Runt of Ares
by njeha
Summary: In One Universe we all know, two different worlds coexist in harmony yet kept a secret from each other. And one child was born in the middle, a child that belonged to both worlds, a demigod rumored to be featuring in a Great Prophecy that has been kept hidden. By the Fates, the gods were tasked with unraveling these secrets, and the future has been brought back to impart insight.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **A/N:** **Before you begin to read this story, I'd like to say two things to clear the air, so please bear with me and my ramblings for a sec:** **(1)** **I know what some of you might be thinking, and quite angrily as well:** _ **Oh my god! Another story already?! She hasn't even updated her other ones.**_ **Guilty. And I do apologize. I will say this again for the umpteenth time, none of my stories will** _ **ever**_ **become part of all those abandoned stories out there. When I start something, no matter how long it takes, I** _ **will**_ **finish it! My problem is, when an idea gets in my head, I cannot concentrate on anything else until I have written it down, and this is what happened. However, I have more free time on my hand, so I will be getting around to update my other stories, most probably I'll update 2 chapters for each story in a row, so I hope this appeases you and you don't get frustrated with me. If you doubt my promise to complete any of my stories you have fallen in love with or got addicted to, inbox me as much as you want, and I'll remind you of the same thing.** **(2)** **Probably some of your eyes widened at the length of this chapter. It's honestly episode one of Supernatural and I couldn't shorten it, like at all. I didn't want to split it into a couple of chapters as it'll make me lazy and it'll take me ages to update it and I'll end up finishing one episode in two months. I promise this is entertaining and with their comments and the inclusion of my OC, each episode will be longer. So give it a shot! Enjoy! XD**

 **There will be another** **A/N** **in the bottom if anyone's interested (preferably** _ **AFTER**_ **you have finished this chapter).**

 **Chapter 1:**

It was a day like any other. Or well, it started out that way.

At the Empire State Building, on the 600th floor, in the ostentatious and grandiose throne room, the Olympians had gathered, regally seated on their sublimely majestic thrones specifically custom-made to suit their owners' preferences and divine authorities. And as per the norm, they were in disarray.

Hestia remained plastered to her hearth, stoking the fire while occasionally aiming a couple of exasperated glances and inaudible sighs of discontent at her beloved – or as some would refer to them as dysfunctional – family. The eldest child of Kronos and Rhea had hoped for a session of peace and merriment, but not even five minutes into the casual summit, Zeus and Poseidon broke into an argument – as they always did, _like clockwork_ – and like the domino effect, snapped the other Olympians out of their peaceful stupor, and prompted them to initiate their usual debates that, in their opinion, _never_ got old.

While the two brothers of the Big Three argued about who Mother Rhea favored the most, Artemis made an offhand, yet loud, comment, about the gathering being a complete and utter waste of her invaluable time and how she would have preferred to be amongst the company of her Hunters scouting out for monsters, provoking Apollo into half-heartedly complaining and bemoaning over the fact that his " _little sis_ " preferred her Hunters over her own brother, which precipitated the never-ending argument where Artemis viciously reminded Apollo that _she_ was the older twin, and _not_ to call her " _sis!_ ", before she proceeded to attack his person, comparing Apollo to her Hunters and making a point to mention his _lack_ of maturity.

Seeing that the meeting was in shambles, Ares and Aphrodite took the opportunity to harangue Hephaestus about the latest trap he set aside for them, and angrily grumbled over the fact that he succeeded _once again_ in ensnaring them. The blacksmith merely made himself comfortable on his throne, a smug grin on his deformed face as his wife and brother yelled at him.

Demeter picked up her favorite pastime, which was nagging about her precious Kore while still managing to fashion a few creative insults directed at Hades. Unfortunately, this time, Hera found herself to be the unlucky victim on the receiving end of the bemoaning goddess's incessant whinging; the Queen of Olympus lost her usual dignity as she slumped down her throne, eyes clenched shut, and a hand desperately massaging her temple as she found herself unable to escape her sister's deafening shrieks of complaint. Athena, however, could not pass the prospect to belittle and further rile up Poseidon – it wasn't in her nature when it came to her irritating, sworn rival – therefore, she hastened to join the debate, instantly siding with Zeus in his attack against Poseidon, which prompted their argument to escalate and for them to abandon their thrones in the process to get in each other's faces, Zeus and Poseidon's grip ominously tightening around the Master Bolt and Trident, respectively.

Which left Hermes and Dionysus, both of whom unknowingly endeared themselves to Hestia as they remained silent, seemingly sharing her distaste at the current events. Hermes busied himself with his phone, fingers madly skating on the keyboard as he checked his inbox, silently ordered George and Martha to carry out his commands, while conversing with Iris, sufficiently decreasing his workload with his astounding ability to multitask. Dionysus, on the other hand, sullenly glared at the accursed can of Diet Coke, purple orbs offended at the fizzy drink stored in the plastic cylindrical container. While he was initially thrilled at the opportunity to escape those pesky brats at the camp, he could not withstand the antagonistic environment without a heavenly glass of Chardonnay, or preferably, Cabernet.

The separate arguments coming from all sides of the throne room were beginning to dangerously escalate; now, not only were Zeus, Poseidon and Athena on their feet, brandishing their weapons, but Artemis, Ares, and Aphrodite as well, glares heated and fists raised – or in Ares's case, a crude bone-knife – at Apollo and Hephaestus' direction. And although Apollo cheekily grinned back at his apoplectic sister, and the blacksmith considered the couple with an amalgamation of bored disdain, Hestia knew that it was time to step in.

However, somebody beat the goddess to the punch.

Several confounding occurrences took place simultaneously: the ground trembled, halting all quarrels in their tracks, and even Dionysus adopted a spark of interest as six elaborate thrones materialized, one of which only appeared once a year during the winter solstice. Not only did the thrones appear, but their respective owners, all six of whom were blinking in confusion at the twelve Olympians and Hestia, thirteen of whom were gaping back at them unattractively, completely rendered speechless.

" _Hades_? What are you doing here?" but Zeus's perplexed demand was drowned out by the deafening wail of "KORE!" followed by Demeter ungraciously flinging her arms around Persephone, who instantly winced at the suffocating embrace of her mother, eyes subtly beseeching her husband and father to come to her aid, and lastly, her close friend Hecate, both of whom had been enjoying a refreshing glass of lemonade in Hades' Palace before their prompt arrival at Olympus.

Poseidon ignored the reunion however, his head cocked to the side and his intense sea-green eyes scrutinizing his wife, Amphitrite, and his son, Triton, both of whom were still blinking in shock at the rapid change in scenery from their palace at Atlantis to Olympus. Dionysus batted off all the confusion and the litany of questions at the tip of his tongue in favor of embracing the apple of his eye, his beloved wife, Ariadne, her appearance brightening up his dull day for he had barely seen her since Zeus exacted his unfair punishment.

Impressively, yet unsurprisingly, Demeter already began ranting and raving, repeating the infamous tale of Persephone's abduction, and miraculously, all occupants in the room groaned in harmony and rolled their eyes in unison, praying for an event to occur that would effectively cut Demeter's tirade short.

Their prayers were answered. But answered in the most unexpected way: a cacophony of yells and grunts echoed against the walls, yells that solely belonged to the massive tangle of limbs by the floor before them, in the middle of the throne room.

"Seaweed Brain, get _OFF_ me!" a girl harshly snapped, but it lacked any true bite.

" _You_ get off! And _stop_ kicking me, Pinecone Face!" the boy retorted.

A voice groaned weakly from the bottom of the mountain of bodies, "Can the two of you shut up?! I'm suffocating down here!"

Simultaneously, and almost comically, 'Pinecone Face' and 'Seaweed Brain' yelled, "Shut up, Death Breath!" not even missing a beat, as though it had been rehearsed beforehand.

A few Olympians sucked in a sharp breath – most notably, Poseidon and Hades, while a few others shifted awkwardly on their respective spots while casting a wary side-glance at a fuming Zeus, for the unkind moniker "Seaweed Brain" or "Seaweed Head" was initially fashioned millennia ago by Athena during her numerous, heated arguments with the sea god himself, and the slur was practically ingrained in their brains. "Death Breath" however, there was no mistaking who that certain moniker could be addressed to: a child of Hades.

Before Zeus could explode, another voice sharply put an end to the squabbling, "All three of you _shut up_ and while you're at it, _stop fidgeting_! Not only am I squished but you're giving me a headache!"

"Sorry, Wise Girl," 'Seaweed Brain' sheepishly mumbled.

No sooner had the horde of teenagers managed to stand on their feet and straighten themselves out did Zeus's ferocious glare narrow in on one boy in particular, a devastatingly handsome boy with sun-kissed skin, disheveled, jet black hair, and a pair of glittering, expressive sea-green eyes that sparkled with mischief, betraying his true parentage, for only one inherited the eyes of Mother Rhea-

"POSEIDON!" Zeus boomed, the intensity of his rage shaking the foundations.

Poseidon paled.

Zeus's knuckles whitened as he gripped his Master Bolt and whirled around to pinpoint his brother with an unforgiving glare before he accusingly spat out, "You BROKE the _oath_!"

The son of the sea god furrowed his brows, his eyes rolling aggressively in their sockets, and before Poseidon could defend himself – for he only fathered one child, and Perseus Jackson was currently twelve-years-old and blissfully unaware of his godly parentage – the aforementioned scoffed, "Oh come on, I thought you got over that _years_ ago!"

Poseidon's jaw slackened, confused orbs widening on not only the boy's bravado, but the definite tone of familiarity when addressing the King of Gods and his complete nonchalance, not the least bit intimidated at finding himself standing before the Olympians, or even the Lord of the Dead.

" _Excuse me_?!" Zeus hissed, his voice deadly and electric-blue eyes practically spitting electricity. "So you do not deny being a son of Poseidon? A child sired _against_ our sacred oath?"

His words set off a chain reaction among the group of teenagers, unintelligible buzzing reverberating around them; however, a vicious snort could be heard loud and clear, and an extremely pretty girl in punk apparel with spiky black hair they recognized to be the one dubbed as 'Pinecone Face', pushed herself to the front and positioned herself next to the son of Poseidon in a stance that screamed solidarity. Electric blue eyes that were oh so familiar, glared at the King of Gods, "Why have you reverted to your hypocrite self, father?!"

" _What_?!" a few Olympians gasped, shock evident on their faces, but none more than Zeus, who paled drastically, his grip loosening on his precious Master Bolt as he scrutinized the girl, his expression resembling one who had seen a ghost. "Th-Thalia? Is that, is that really you?"

Anger gave way to confusion and Thalia blinked at her father, suspicion coloring her features. "Who else would I be?" she rhetorically quipped.

"Last I checked, you were a pine tree at Half-Blood Hill," Dionysus drawled, and while he had the expression of a person that couldn't care less, nobody could mistake the flare of interest as any other emotion. A gorgeous woman beside him with luscious chocolate curls swatted his shoulder, her tone mildly chastising, "Dionysus, dear. That wasn't sensitive at all."

Dionysus grunted, "I wasn't attempting to be sensitive, Ariadne. I am merely stating the facts."

And the drachma finally dropped.

A girl with tanned skin and a discernibly athletic figure with long, curly blonde hair and stormy gray eyes that held a calculating glint to it, stepped forward, attempting and failing to mask the sense of foreboding from her tone, "If you don't mind me asking… what year is it?"

Unable to leave a question unanswered, Athena provided the answer to the girl she was ninety percent sure was her daughter, "We are approaching the month of November, and the year is 2005."

"Oh that's just perfect! _Great_!" the son of Poseidon acerbically spat out. Breathing in deeply, he met the neutral gaze of his father's and elaborated, "We're from the year 2010."

"Indeed you are," a hoarse voice croaked from the back of the room.

In unison, all the gods and demigods whipped around to identify the source of the voice, and they blanched at the sight of the Fates. The three wizened women did not bother to close the distance between them, preferring to analyze the variety of emotions flittering on each and every occupant's faces with their uncanny milky-white eyes from a distance, to better survey the room. Clotho abruptly held up a firm hand, soundlessly halting Zeus or any other Olympian from putting forth an inquiry regarding their ominous appearance. Lachesis, in an eerie demeanor, rocked on her feet as she croaked out, "We do not like to meddle. In fact, we loathe it. Unfortunately, the future is too grim to ignore. It is time we step in and take charge."

Atropos pierced Zeus with a fierce gaze, her steady stare reeking with disappointment and censure, "To keep the meddling to a minimum, and to ensure you learn of your mistakes before it is _too late_ , we brought forth eighteen, all of whom bled and sweat and sacrificed _everything_ for Olympus and your continued existence. They shall open your eyes. You may be Olympians, _gods_ , but you are not infallible, Lord Zeus."

"Also," Clotho finally spoke in a whispery note, and this time, every occupant in the throne room was perplexed to see her milky gaze to be focused on none other than a bewildered Ares, "You shall gain enlightenment through another. A demigod none but one have heard of, or are even aware of. One that is pivotal to the universe." She waved a hand, and an enormous, transparent screen appeared before them, "We ask that you set aside your differences. Not kill each other. We ask you to watch events that had yet to occur and _shall_ occur, and once you are done, once you have _gained insight_ , we shall return."

Lachesis turned her attention to the group from the future, "Be wary of how much information you choose to disclose, for if dealt with incorrectly, then the probability of returning to your grim future shall be high. We are giving you the rare chance of saving the innumerable lives that were lost. _Do not waste it_."

The demigods from the future's expressions brightened like a Christmas tree, ecstatic at the chance, at the _miracle_ , the Fates bestowed them with, and they all nodded in unison, gladly accepting the burden that had been placed on their shoulders. And not giving the gods a chance to get a single word in, the Fates vanished, the large screen the only proof of their visit.

Hestia was the first to snap out of her shock, and she smiled kindly at the newcomers, "I believe introductions are in order."

Percy, Thalia and Annabeth were the first three to come forth, and other than hostile glares from Amphitrite and Triton and loud grumblings from Hera, the others nodded in acknowledgement, Poseidon's grin shamelessly exuberant at the sight of his son, all grown up, and having survived to the age of sixteen against all odds, despite the Great Prophecy. The sons of Hermes, Travis and Connor Stoll, as well as Chris Rodriguez brought a cheerful grin to take precedence on Hermes' handsome face. Will Solace, son of Apollo, and Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter, were met with a similar reaction as Hermes'. When Clarisse La Rue introduced herself, other than Ares sneering slightly at her hands, which were interlaced with Chris's, he offered her a curt nod. Aphrodite however, shrieked giddily at the sight of her gorgeous daughter, Piper McLean, and she already devised plans on changing her entire wardrobe from the denim jeans shorts and plain tank top she currently had on. Hephaestus greeted his hyper son with a gentle smile, one that looked foreign since his features were mostly colored with an expression of apathy.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," the boy, who had been called 'Death Breath' stepped forward, his face too pale to be considered healthy which contrasted heavily with his complete black attire. "And before you accuse my father of breaking the oath, he didn't. I was born before the oath was made and was subsequently placed in the Lotus Hotel, where I lived for around seventy years." Zeus and Poseidon snapped their mouths shut and sheepishly looked away, adamantly avoiding eye contact with the smug Lord of the Dead and the other amused gods and goddesses. Hades, while surprised yet immensely pleased, at the sight of his son well and alive, felt fear grip his heart… _Where was Bianca?_

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," an undeniably attractive girl, tall and slim with shocking red frizzy hair, a freckled face and alluring green eyes cheekily waved at the gods, her graffitied jeans and overly large shirt reducing Aphrodite to a slight panic attack. She then acknowledged her patron with a respectful bow, "I'm the Oracle of Delphi."

Apollo's smile nearly blinded them and he gave a whoop of joy. "That's _wonderful_! Finally the curse has been broken and my poor Oracle moved on. It's great to meet you, Rachel," he grinned boyishly at her, genuinely pleased to see her. Hades blinked a few times in shock, and Persephone reached for his hand to give it a comforting squeeze; the King and Queen of the Underworld, as well as Hecate, their closest friend and confidant, instantly comprehended the gist behind Rachel's appearance – his house was finally met with acceptance in the future.

Once the satyr, Grover Underwood, nervously introduced himself, the Olympians and the other gods were in for a nasty shock; a shock that came in the form of three particular demigods: Jason Grace, son of Jupiter; Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto; Frank Zhang, son of Mars.

 _What were Roman demigods doing with the Greeks?_

Hades was baffled over the fact that his daughter was alive, for the Hazel of 2005 was currently in the Fields of Asphodel, having denied her rightful place in Elysium to ensure her mother, Marie, escaped the Fields of Punishment. Ares was downright confused, gaping at his Roman son, speechless. Hera, on the other hand, surprised the gods when she chose to remain silent, all of them wondering why she had yet to blow a fuse and berate Zeus for siring _another_ child with the _same_ woman – little did they know, that Hera was the one to separate Jason from his sister due to his Roman heritage.

"Well, now that the introductions have, uh, been concluded," Apollo hesitantly spoke up, at a loss for words-

The transparent screen left behind by the Fates flickered and gained color, beckoning and capturing everyone's undivided attention, for they were all curious in regards to what the Fates lay in store for them.

The gods remained on their thrones and Hera conjured plushy couches for the sixteen demigods, the Oracle, and the satyr, positioned at an angle were they could easily gauge the screen without the need to crane their necks, just as the words **Lawrence, Kansas, 22 years ago** appeared at the bottom of the screen.

 **A beautiful woman in a white nightgown with blonde curls walked into a dark room carrying a small boy who looked to be around the age of four. "Come on, let's say good night to your brother." She then proceeded to turn on the lights, showing the room was in fact a nursery, and in the middle was a crib. Approaching the crib, the child leaned over the side of it and kissed the six-month-old boy on the forehead before he said, "Night, Sam."**

Aphrodite squealed, "Aren't they just _adorable_!"

Hestia and Hera grinned in wholehearted agreement. In fact, every female could be heard cooing at the boys and even Zeus's lips twitched into a diminutive smile. Ares however, rolled his eyes while Dionysus grumbled about it all being a waste of time, at least until Ariadne softly rebuked him.

" **Good night, love," the blonde woman fondly brushed Sam's hair back and she too, kissed his forehead.**

" **Hey, Dean."**

 **The four year old boy, Dean, turned around to see a handsome, well-built man with raven hair and kind light brown eyes crinkled up in a smile, leaning against the doorway wearing a USMC T-shirt. Dean's cherubic face brightened at the man's appearance and he rushed over, barreling into the man's open arms, "Daddy!"**

" **Hey, buddy," he chuckled, bending down to scoop Dean up in his arms. "So what do you think? You think Sammy's ready to toss a football yet?" Laughing, Dean shook his head, "No, Daddy." prompting a laugh out of his father.**

A few demigods had bittersweet smiles on their faces upon witnessing the heartwarming domestic scene; they didn't have that: parents who cared. And if they did, it always ended abruptly due to them being constantly chased and hounded by monsters – such was the life of a demigod.

Some of the gods noticed the expressions on their children's faces, and they looked away, the guilt eating at them, while a few chose to glare at Zeus – it wasn't their fault. The Ancient Laws placed by Zeus prohibited them from getting involved in their children's lives, their hands were tied.

 **The blonde woman passed her husband and son, "You got him?"**

" **I got him," the father smiled, hugging Dean closer to him. "Sweet dreams, Sam." He flipped off the lights and carried Dean out of the room. The scene zoomed in on baby Sam's face, who was gurgling as he watched them go, then tried to reach his toes.**

Cue more coos from every female in the room, except Clarisse – much to Ares's relief – though a shadow of a smile could be seen on her face.

 **In the master bedroom, lights could be seen flickering and a baby monitor sitting on a nightstand next to a photo of the blonde woman and her husband. Suddenly, strange noises could be heard coming through the baby monitor, prompting the blonde to stir in bed. She turned on the light on the nightstand and abruptly rearranged herself into a sitting position.**

" **John?" she called out, reaching out blindly for the space beside her, only to be met with air.**

"I suddenly have a bad feeling," Persephone worriedly bit her lower lip.

Ares gleefully rubbed his hands together, anticipating the action that would no doubt be occurring. The Fates always had a reason for everything, and Ares doubted they merely wished for them to observe the dynamics of a happy family.

 **She walked down the hall and didn't stop until she reached Sam's nursery. Seeing the silhouette of her husband, she softly smiled, "John? Is he hungry?"**

 **He fractionally turned his head, "Shhh."**

" **Alright," she smiled and left, walking down the hallway.**

 **The lights by the stairs started to flicker, prompting a heavy frown to mar her features. Tapping the lights, they steadied; more flickering lights could be seen from downstairs. Deciding to investigate, the blonde headed for the stairs.**

" _Di immortales_!" Aphrodite gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. Ariadne, Persephone, Annabeth, Hazel, Rachel and Katie weren't faring any better as they saw the screen focus on the living room.

 **A war movie was playing on TV, and John could be seen clearly, spread out on the couch, fast asleep.**

"He has excellent taste in movies," Ares grinned, blind to the heated glares he was on the receiving end of from most of the females in the room.

 **The blonde's face morphed into one of horror and she ran up the stairs, "Sammy!** _ **Sammy**_ **!" She burst into the nursery and froze in her tracks.**

 **A bloodcurdling scream echoed in the house.**

 **Back in the living room, John jolted awake, "Mary?"**

"Finally a name," Hazel mumbled under her breath. "I was tired of addressing her as the blonde lady in my head." Frank grinned weakly and tightened his arms around her, an action that had Hades' eyes narrowing in disapproval, despite the ominous circumstances on the screen.

 **John leapt up the stairs and mimicking Mary's previous action, burst into the nursery, eyes shining with confusion.**

 **The nursery was quiet and empty except for Sam, who was awake in his crib, doe brown eyes focused on his father.**

"Where did she go?" Poseidon frowned. Athena didn't have the heart to snap at him upon hearing the sincere worriment in his voice.

 **John wearily glanced around the room as he approached the crib, "Hey, Sammy. You okay?"**

 **Something dark dripped down from above, landing next to Sam and staining the white sheets. Frowning, John touched the substance just as two more drops abruptly landed on the back of his hand. Slowly, John looked up and his eyes widened in pure horror.**

 **Mary was sprawled across the ceiling, the stomach of her nightgown crimson with blood that was pooling out from a wound on her abdomen, and she was staring down at John, alive but barely, struggling to breathe.**

 **John collapsed onto the floor, his eyes had yet to move from the gruesome sight of his wife. "No!** _ **Mary**_ **!"**

"No! No, oh gods! Oh gods!" tears stained Piper's face as she clasped the hand of an ashen-faced Jason in a vice grip. In fact, nobody in the room could conceal their horror at the disturbing sight. Even Ares grimaced at the woman's fate. The God of War shook his head, "This isn't an accident. It's personal."

"Explain," Zeus commanded, desperately trying to maintain an apathetic disposition.

Ares shrugged, and belatedly, they all noticed that while they chattered amongst themselves, the scene paused. "Somebody went through a lot of effort to break into their house while everyone was asleep, and that requires patience. A lot of it. Then they stood over the boy's crib and emulated his father. If the intruder meant to kill the boy or kidnap him, then what was he waiting for? And if they meant to kill the mother, why not do so when she initially walked in? Nah, it's definitely personal," the war god deduced.

At the thought of somebody trying to kill an infant, the demigods sported varying expressions of disgust. Zeus and Hera however, shifted uncomfortably in their respective thrones; it was no secret that Zeus wished to eliminate Hades' children upon hearing the Great Prophecy – but in his defense, they were well over the age of five. Hera, on the other hand, attempted many times to get rid of Zeus' bastard children, sometimes while his lovers were still with child.

" **Daddy!" Dean scrambled into the room.**

"No," Percy yelled, pity palpable on his handsome features. "The kid shouldn't see his mother like that."

Poseidon smiled at his son's caring nature, no doubt a trait he inherited from Sally. Annabeth leaned forward and pecked his cheek, not noticing her mother's glare burning a hole through the back of her head at the intimate gesture.

 **The arrival of his son snapped John back to his senses. He cradled Sam in his arms and cautiously deposited him into Dean's tiny arms, "Take your brother as fast as you can and** _ **don't**_ **look back!" When Dean hesitated to follow his father's frantic instructions, John pushed him toward the door, "Now, Dean,** _ **go**_ **!"**

"Yes, Dean. Go!" Apollo burst out, too invested in what the Fates instructed them to watch. This wasn't simply a movie meant as entertainment, but a real-life documentary. John, Mary, Dean and Sam, they were a real family somewhere out there in America, and this happened 22 years ago _in Kansas_. Contrary to his eternal bachelorhood, Apollo had a heart of gold and he loved each and every one of his children equally and fervently. Furthermore, Apollo intimately knew the devastating and crippling feeling of having a loved one cruelly snatched away from you, and he wouldn't wish such pain to anyone… well, except maybe his mortal enemies.

 **The moment Dean disappeared with Sam John rushed into the nursery, "Mary!" The entire room was on fire, and Mary herself was barely visible as she became buried in the sea of violent flames, burning to death. "** _ **No**_ **!"**

Ares found his arms filled with a bawling Aphrodite who had decided to make home in his strong arms. Persephone, Hera, Amphitrite and Ariadne mimicked the Goddess of Love's actions as they took solace in their husband's arms. Demeter cried into her handkerchief and, Hecate and Hestia's vision were blurred with tears. The demigods, Rachel and Grover weren't faring any better.

 **The camera changed perspective, showing Dean standing outside the house, holding Sam protectively in his arms. "It's okay, Sammy," he reassured him, watery green eyes looking up at Sam's window, which reflected gold.**

 **John ran over to them and scooped up both his sons, hastening to lead them away from the house, "I gotcha." At that moment, an explosion could be heard from the nursery and fire roared wildly from the window.**

 **Lawrence fire department arrived and firefighters could be seen scrambling around to douse out the flames. Neighbors crowded around to watch the spectacle and across the street, the camera zoomed in on the family of three.**

 **John and Dean sat on the hood of an Impala with Sam nestled in John's arms as he looked up in despair at the remnants of the fire.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"Burned alive is a horrible way to go," Nico grimaced.

Thalia sneered at the screen in disgust, though her electric blue orbs were suspiciously wet, "From what we've seen, she suffered _long_ before the fire started."

"Is Sam the demigod the Fates were talking about?" Jason inquired, steadily meeting the gods' gazes, all of whom looked flummoxed. "I mean-" he elucidated, "-who else but a monster would do something like that-, _oh shit_ , Leo, I'm sorry I wasn't thinking-"

Leo quickly waved the apology away and made a valiant effort to smile at the seventeen worried expressions he was currently on the receiving end of from his friends. "It's cool, don't worry about it, you guys. It was-, it happened years ago. I'm, just, don't worry about it, okay?" his tearstained face, bloodshot eyes and the fact that he was quivering like a leaf, belied his words and even Hephaestus seemed saddened as he focused his gaze on his son. Mary's fate was eerily similar to Esperanza Valdez's.

Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Nico, Piper, Hazel, and Frank shot each other pointed glances… perhaps Sam was the demigod the Fates mentioned, and perhaps Gaea was behind Mary's death.

Clearing his throat, Hermes brought the attention back to the gods, "Sam's not mine, I know that much." And one by one, the other gods echoed Hermes' answer, eliciting the confusion to skyrocket.

 _Maybe Sam was a son of a minor god?_

 **Stanford University, Present Day, 31** **st** **October, 2005 appeared on the screen.**

"That's tomorrow," Apollo piped up as Gasoline by Ginger began playing in the background.

Athena hummed, wondering what exactly the Fates desired them to do with the influx of events they were about to witness.

" **Sam!" a pretty girl yelled as she turned around a corner dressed in a sexy-nurse costume while adjusting her hat. The camera focused on a photo of Mary and John that was perched on the dresser. "Get a move on, would you? We were supposed to be there like** _ **fifteen minutes ago**_ **."**

 **A** _ **very**_ **tall, young man with a mop of shaggy brown hair and wide doe-like chocolate brown eyes poked his head from around the corner, dressed in jeans and a casual shirt, obviously not having made an effort to dress up like the blonde had, "Do I have to?"**

" **Yes!"**

"My, my, my," Aphrodite exaggeratedly fanned herself, eyes gleaming at the 22-year-old Sam. "He grew up to be a quite a handsome young man." Ares growled lowly in his throat while Hephaestus rolled his eyes, not the least bit surprised at his wife's wandering thoughts. Athena, Artemis and Thalia shot the goddess a look of utter disgust and Piper buried her face into Jason's chest, mortified to death at her mother's lascivious behavior. "What?" the love goddess, pouted. "I was merely stating what you _all_ were thinking, and don't bother shaking your heads at me, girls. I can tell."

Hazel, Rachel, Annabeth, Katie and, to Ares' chagrin, Clarisse, avoided the goddess of love's knowing stare and smug smirk, pink spots making an appearance on their cheeks that gave them away. Frank, Percy, Travis, and Chris stared, absolutely appalled at their respective girlfriends, much to their friends' and fathers' amusement.

" **And where is your costume," the pretty blonde with kind brown eyes demanded as she analyzed Sam when he finally came out of the room. Sam laughed nervously and ducked his head, "You know how I feel about Halloween."**

 **Party music blared loudly in the background and the scene changed, showing Sam and the pretty blonde in a bar decorated to the nines with Halloween decorations. Their table was crowded and the blonde raised her shot glass, trying to have herself heard over the music, "So here's to Sam and his** _ **awesome**_ **LSAT victory."**

" **All right, all right, it's not that big a deal," Sam downplayed, but nevertheless, he clinked his glass with the blonde and another boy. The blonde fondly rolled her eyes after knocking back her shot, "Yeah, he acts all humble, but he scored a one seventy-four."**

" **Is that good?" the boy asked.**

"Is that good? _Is that good_?" Annabeth shrieked, appalled at the boy's ignorance. The daughter of Athena looked like she was preparing herself for a huge ranter and Percy immediately dove for damage control. "Wise Girl, it's okay, it's all right. Don't get too hyped up about it."

Athena didn't like how close the sea spawn was in regards to her daughter, and she was adamant to put a stop to their friendship.

"So, Annie-"

" _Don't_ call me Annie!" Annabeth snapped at Connor.

"- _is that good_?" Travis continued his brother's line of thought.

Hermes chuckled at his sons' antics, but unfortunately, the Stolls' laughter was cut short when Rachel and Katie slapped them on the upside of their heads and demanded they apologize to Annabeth. In unison, Travis and Connor gave Annabeth a mischievous grin, and intoned, "Sorry, _Annie_!"

This time, they were both met with two fluffy pillows hitting them smack-dab in their faces.

" **Scary good," the blonde elaborated. The boy grinned proudly and winked at Sam, "So there you go. You are a first-round draft pick. You can go to** _ **any**_ **law school you want!"**

 **Sam smiled modestly, "Actually, I got an interview here. Monday. If it goes okay I think I got a shot at a full ride next year."**

"Boring!" Ares, Apollo and Hermes drawled, only to be met with Athena's vicious glare. Hermes and Apollo immediately backtracked, "We meant fun." "Very interesting!"

Slightly mollified, and ignoring the muffled laughter of a few gods and demigods, Athena narrowed her gaze on Ares, who looked utterly unaffected and simply elaborated, "I was talking about the events onscreen. I want _action_!"

Cue rolling of the eyes and a slight smack from Aphrodite who didn't seem at all surprised by her lover's behavior.

" **How does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?" the boy grinned as he refilled their glasses with alcohol.**

 **Sam looked away, "Ah, they don't know."**

 **The boy paused, the bottle limp in his hand as he gaped at Sam, "Oh, no, I would be** _ **gloating**_ **! Why not?" Sam shrugged, his tone indifferent, "Because we're not exactly the Bradys."**

Rachael absently hummed the theme song for 'The Brady Bunch' as she doodled on her jeans.

" **And I'm not exactly the Huxtables," the boy retorted, shaking his head as he changed the subject, "More shots?"**

Hera frowned, not liking what she was hearing, "He should be proud of his achievements and he should tell his father and brother! What could have possibly happened to drive that poor family apart?"

"Sometimes, when tragedy strikes a family, it could either bring them closer, or leave a negative impact and tear them apart. Apparently, the latter happened," Frank shrugged. Leo grinned cheekily at the son of Mars, "That was deep, dude. You sure you're not a son of Minerva?"

Ares's brows hit his hairline. "And _what_ is that supposed to mean, punk?" not sure whether he should be amused by the imp's statement, or offended.

Leo blanched; for a moment, he had forgotten about his friend's father being in the same room, despite the fact that he was currently in his Greek form "Uh, n-no-nothing, Mr. Lord Ares, sir," he squeaked.

"Mr. Lord Ares, sir?" Percy chuckled, Jason, Travis and Connor joining in on the son of Poseidon's laughter. Ares noncommittally hummed, his red orbs scrutinizing the twitchy son of his brother's for a moment longer before redirecting his gaze to the screen.

 **The blonde beamed brightly at Sam, "No, seriously. I'm proud of you. And you're gonna knock 'em dead on Monday,** _ **and**_ **you're gonna get that full ride. I know it."**

 **Sam affectionately gazed at her, "What would I do without you?"**

" **Crash and burn," she cheekily retorted before pulling Sam in for a heated kiss.**

Aphrodite squealed and clapped her hands together, "More love. Oh, I hope this doesn't end in a tragedy as well. They look _positively_ adorable together!"

"Men," Artemis acerbically scoffed, scrunching her nose in disdain.

 **The scene changed, focusing for a moment on Sam and the blonde girl, asleep on the bed with their backs facing each other. Just as the blonde shifted position a screeching sound permeated the air, coming from the other room, and Sam's eyes abruptly snapped open.**

"No, no, not again," Rachel groaned, not looking forward to another gruesome murder, especially to another happy couple.

 **Sam stealthily left the bedroom and vigilantly scrutinized the apartment.**

 **A window was open, the curtain fluttering as the wind impacted against it. Light footsteps could be heard over the whistling of the wind. A silhouette of a man could be seen walking past the string of beads at the far end of the hall. Sam quickly ducked to another part of the apartment and stood ramrod straight, held his breath in, and waited. The back of a man could be seen, and Sam lunged forward, grabbing the intruder's shoulder, but his hand was skillfully knocked back and the man aimed a punch at Sam, who ducked.**

"Finally some action," Ares cheered, his sentiments echoed by Clarisse, to which the god of war proudly smiled, much to Frank's horror.

 **The scuffle between Sam and the intruder escalated with Sam's kick being deftly blocked and his body hauled into another room. Just as Sam caught a glimpse of the intruder, an elbow impacted with his face. Sam aimed a kick for his head, but the man dodged the strike and knocked Sam down before pinning him to the ground, one hand on his neck and the other holding his wrist, holding him in position and blocking any effort of escape.**

" **Whoa, easy, tiger," a husky voice that belonged to the intruder, said.**

"Okay, whoever broke into the house, he has a _sexy_ voice!" Rachel complimented, blatantly ogling the screen. Aphrodite, irritating them once more with her squeals, clapped her hands and raked Rachel's form appraisingly, "I like this Oracle, Apollo. It's too bad remaining a maiden is a strict requirement in the job description."

Apollo grinned at Aphrodite and sent Rachel a sly wink, to which the redhead ducked her head in response, torn between mortification and amusement.

 **Breathing hard, Sam groaned, "Dean?" He was met with laughter, and Sam indignantly snapped, "You scared the crap out of me!"**

" **That's 'cause you're out of practice," Dean retorted, a hint of disapproval in his tone.**

"Out of practice?" Nico frowned in confusion. "Why should he be skilled in hand-to-hand combat in the first place? Better yet, he's twenty-two, if he's a demigod, shouldn't he have been sent to camp _years_ ago?" It was truly a rare phenomenon to find a demigod over the age of thirteen that had yet to be scouted by a satyr or sent by their godly parent to have them escorted to Camp Half-Blood safely.

Nobody had a proper response to that certain baffling question that had been bothering them all. Apollo however, sharply reminded them of a simple fact they had forgotten, "The Fates mentioned we'd be learning about a demigod that we aren't aware of. I guess he just escaped our attention."

Percy was _not_ thrilled with the prospect of another demigod remaining ignorant of his heritage and ignored by this godly parent. But then, he remembered, they were in the past, and the Olympians had yet to learn the hard way about how destructive their actions and tendency to ignore their children were in the future. That was one of the main reasons why the Fates brought them to the past, to illuminate the Olympians of the consequences the Ancient Laws evoked in the long run.

 **Quick as a whip, Sam grabbed Dean's head and yanked forward, slamming his heel into Dean's back and pushing him onto the floor.**

That retaliation gave them a better view of Dean and his _assets_ , and this time, the girls couldn't deny that Aphrodite made a valid point: Dean was breathtakingly, gorgeously _gorgeous_!

"Are you, you are-, you're ogling Dean, aren't you?" Percy accused the daughter of Athena, though he didn't seem mad, more amused than anything, with a dash of surprise. Annabeth shielded her face from the gobsmacked looks the boys were sending her. In fact, Athena, Artemis, Hera and Hestia were the only females unaffected by Dean and the sex appeal he was practically oozing. Thalia may be Artemis's lieutenant, but she didn't have a deep-seated hatred towards men, and being a Hunter, sworn off men, didn't automatically make her blind – she could look, and appreciate a man's good looks without touching, right? She wasn't breaking any laws by admiring Dean.

Piper smirked and shrugged a shoulder in a dismissive way, "You can't blame us-, don't look at me like that, Jase. I love you. You know I do. But…" she bit her lower lip, "Dean is the most wonderful specimen of the male race. Like Pandora, I think he was molded from the hands of the gods themselves! I mean, he's, he's-"

"Adonis reincarnated," Katie flushed as the words sprang out of her mouth, ignoring Travis's disgruntled and slightly betrayed stare. Aphrodite and Persephone looked slightly teary-eyed at the mention of their past lover and Ares, if possible, looked like he was about to blow a gasket at the mention of that _punk_!

Zeus cleared his throat, his expression nauseated, not at all entertained over the fact that the women in this room were blatantly making eyes at some puny mortal. Poseidon on the other hand, chuckled heartily and clapped his hands together once for attention, "Now that you are done… drooling over this 'fine specimen of the male race'-" the teenaged girls blushed profusely and looked away from the sea god, "-let us return to the matter at hand, yes?"

" **Or not," Dean chuckled, seemingly pleased with his brother. However, at that moment, a toned arm appeared in Dean and Sam's line of vision, grabbing Sam by the wrist, twisting it, and efficiently throwing him onto the ground, landing him flat on his back with a pained grunt.**

" **I agree with Dean's initial assessment, you're way out of practice, Sammy-boy," a melodious voice that sounded like molten gold or rich chocolate, sounded from behind. Laughing good-naturedly, Dean offered a hand to Sam and helped him get on his feet.**

" **Liv?" Sam asked, sounding uncertain as he followed the noise to the kitchen, "What the hell are you doing here?"**

 **The fridge slammed shut. A beer bottle in hand, Liv turned around, her exotic dark mahogany eyes brimming with mischief and a hint of rebelliousness, "Uh, looking for a beer, what else?" Winking at a gobsmacked Sam, in a downward motion, she slammed the metal cap of the beer bottle against the marble counter, expertly opening it and downing a quarter of it down in one fluid motion.**

This time, it was the males' turn to shamelessly drool and appreciate the girl's god-gifted beauty. In fact, Aphrodite didn't seem disheartened by the turn of events, "I definitely blessed this girl. She is a work of art! Just _look at her_!"

And she was; luscious golden-brown curls tumbling down to her waist, a smooth olive complexion and exotic oak-brown eyes, so dark yet they oddly glittered with sparks of gold if the lighting hit her at a specific angle. She was generously endowed in the feminine department, and her body, while slim and shaped in an hourglass formation, she definitely worked out religiously if her toned arms and athletic build had anything to say about it. She had a cute circle-shaped face and her features were uncannily proportionate, with a petite, straight-sloped nose, high aristocratic cheekbones, thick, arched eyebrows and plump, cupid-bow lips. She didn't even have a touch of makeup smeared on her face, not even a light sheen of transparent lip-gloss, and yet, she looked utterly delectable, too perfect to be real… heck, Michelangelo and Picasso would be _insanely_ jealous at her creator.

"Uh, Prissy, you got a little drool, right over there," an amused Clarisse pointed out, a finger directed at the corner of his lips. Amphitrite huffed at her husband, for he too looked dazed at the screen, where it had paused on the girl, Liv. "Poseidon! You truly are his father-" she lost her voice upon seeing Triton, his reaction similar to his father's and half-brother's.

" _Zeus_!" an appalled Hera screeched, to no avail.

The most shocking discovery, however, was that Ares appeared to be the only male in the room, unaffected by the girl's entrancing beauty. Yes, the war god was similarly shocked into a silent stupor, but nobody could detect a hint of lust on his handsome face; no, his expression was frozen into one of contemplation, as though he were trying, _and failing_ , to remember something in particular, or solve an exceedingly difficult equation.

"Who is this woman?" Persephone lightly inquired, her expression one of curiosity; she, like Aphrodite and Ariadne, were not offended in the least bit about their respective lover and husband's lustful gaze, for they knew that while they looked, ogled and enjoyed the company of women, at the end of the day, their hearts remained faithful and beat for them and _them only_.

"An angel," Leo dreamily inputted; forget Thalia Grace, forget the goddess Khione, they were nothing when compared to the dark-haired, dark-eyed goddess on screen.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Thalia snarled, accusingly, subtly referring to Calypso. Leo's expression didn't change, however, and he continued to shamefully gawk at the girl. "There's nothing wrong with looking," he defended himself.

Rachel giggled at Leo and proceeded to hand over tissues to him and Percy so that they could wipe off their puddle of drool. Athena gritted her teeth, yet obediently offered her opinion, her nose scrunched up in disgust upon analyzing her father, Poseidon, Percy and every other male, except Ares, lovestruck expressions, "She must be some skanky girlfriend of Dean's." to which she actually quailed at the ferocious glares all the men pinned her with.

"Siren maybe," Artemis scoffed.

 **Sam didn't look impressed. He shot Liv a disappointed glare, "You're underage! You're not supposed to be drinking alcohol-" He whirled around to glare at Dean, "You're letting her** _ **drink**_ **now?!"**

" **I'm** _ **sixteen**_ **, Sam. Jeez! Lighten up, dude!" Liv retorted heatedly.**

"SIXTEEN?!" nearly everyone bellowed, grossly taken aback, for Liv looked to be in her early twenties.

Leo absently shrugged, still dazzled by the brunette's enchanting beauty, "It's cool. I dig older chicas." For if she sixteen in the present day, then in their future, that would make her around twenty-one.

The gods however, remained unruffled. They were _gods_ after all, and sixteen was an exceptionally reasonable age when it came to matters of courting. In fact, eons ago, women were arranged betrothal contracts by the ages of thirteen and fourteen. Sixteen was merely a number.

" **Yeah, and sixteen** _ **still**_ **labels you as an** _ **underage**_ **citizen! Talk to me when you're twenty-one," Sam snapped, moving to grab the beer bottle from her hand, to which she swiftly sidestepped him, opened the fridge and tossed another bottle over to Dean, who grinned unrepentantly at his fuming brother. "Relax, Sam. I've always got both eyes on Liv," he pacified him, to no avail.**

 **Throwing one last glare at Liv as she raised the bottle to her lips, he aggressively repeated, "** _ **What**_ **the hell are you doing here?"**

" **Okay," Dean snapped his fingers in remembrance, "All right. We gotta talk."**

" **Uh, the phone?" Sam suggested, eyes following the beer bottle in Dean's hand in disapproval as it was handed it over to Liv, who proceeded to expertly open it before handing it back to him. Liv scoffed, "Oh please. Truth. Would you have** _ **actually**_ **picked up the phone?"**

 **Sam looked away in shame, unable to find a correct rebuttal. The lights turned on and the pretty blonde appeared in really short shorts and a cropped Smurfs shirt, "Sam?"**

 **Liv snickered, "Nice, dude. Real nice-** _ **ouch**_ **!" she glared at Sam, or precisely, his elbow, who glared at her before dashing over to the blonde's side like a faithful golden retriever. "Jess. Hey. Dean, Olivia, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," he introduced.**

"Olivia. Such a beautiful name," Hestia beamed.

The name stirred something in Ares, like a long-forgotten memory that kept escaping his vice grip, and the more he tried to hold onto it, the faster it slipped away from him. And it was _frustrating_!

"Hmm, yes, Olivia. I agree with you, sister dearest," Poseidon stated, eyes bright and lips spread into a genuine smile. Amphitrite huffed, "You know, _husband_ , you can at least _try_ and _pretend_ that you are not shamelessly leering at the girl, at least while I'm in the room!"

Poseidon flashed his sullen wife a charming smile that had Piper, Rachel, _and_ even Clarisse and Annabeth, swooning. Percy really did inherit his father's dashingly good looks and ineffable charm. "Amphitrite, _my Queen_. You know I can never _truly_ love anybody but you. However, there is nothing wrong with appreciating a marvelous work of art every now and then. It wouldn't make me love you any less."

"Smooth, Uncle P. _Very smooth_ ," Apollo chuckled at his favorite uncle. Amphitrite maintained her glare, though she utterly failed in hiding the faint flush that rushed to her cheeks, evoked by his flattery

" **Wait, your** _ **brother**_ **, Dean?" Jessica double-checked. Dean looked at her appreciatively, which prompted Liv to smack him atop the head. Jessica turned her gaze to Liv, "And Olivia, your… sister?"**

 **Liv snorted, "He ain't that lucky. Technically, we're cousins." She then downed the rest of her drink and tossed it into the trash without even looking. "** _ **Score**_ **!" she cheered, accepting the high-five from Dean when it landed.**

"Chica's got skills," Leo whistled, full on worshiping her now.

 **Jessica laughed at Liv and Dean chose to speak up, eyes brazenly raking her shirt, "Oh, I love the Smurfs. You know, I gotta tell you. You are** _ **completely**_ **out of my brother's league."**

" **Oh, please. Anybody that knows how to laugh is out of Sam's league," Liv snidely commented, apparently still miffed about his underage comment. Sam threw her a bitch-face, "Haha, very funny,** _ **Olivia**_ **!"**

" **I wasn't trying to be. And it's** _ **Liv**_ **!" Liv retorted acidly. Cutting into the family dispute, Jessica turned to go and hesitantly said, "Just let me put something on."**

"Those two remind me of Poseidon and Zeus when they're arguing," Hermes grinned, noticing the parallels between the cousins and brothers.

"Though less destructive and doesn't risk starting a war," Apollo added with a chuckle.

Poseidon and Zeus huffed; ' _they weren't that bad, were they,_ ' they thought at the same time.

"I like their dynamic," Aphrodite tittered.

Demeter nodded in wholehearted agreement, it was a nice change to the gloomy beginning, and even Ares couldn't find anything negative to comment on, though it could be due to the fact that he had yet to lose the pensive expression that had made a permanent residence on his face ever since Olivia was introduced.

" **No, no, no. I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously," Dean smirked. Nevertheless, Jessica disappeared into the bedroom and Sam glared at Dean with a stony expression. "Anyway," Dean tore his gaze from Jessica and went down to business. "I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business."**

 **Liv nodded and leapt down from the counter she was perched on, "But it was real nice meeting ya."**

" **No," Sam shook his head, went over to Jessica and put an arm around her. "No. Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her."**

 **In eerie unison, Dean and Liv raised a brow at Sam and then looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation, which seemed to irk Sam, before they both nodded in harmony, having come to a mutual agreement.**

" **Okay. Dad hasn't been home in a few days," Dean revealed.**

Demeter gasped in dismay, "I hope nothing bad befell that poor man. Maybe he should eat more cereal-"

"Cereal has _nothing_ to do with a man's safety, Demeter," Hades snapped, unable to handle his sister's blathering on and on and on about her blasted grains and cereals. Demeter glared back, "And you know all about safety, hm?! _You_ , who _kidnapped_ my precious Kore and imprisoned her in that morose place you call a home-"

Persephone sighed, and much to the gods' surprise, a few demigods groaned in exasperation, seemingly sharing their sentiment when it came to Demeter's incessant nagging, most notably from Percy and Nico. " _Mother_ , I am perfectly content with my husband, in _our_ home, in the Underworld. Please, please, _please_ , respect that. It's been over four thousand _years_ already!"

Demeter merely huffed and looked away, her lips pursed into a mulish line.

 **Sam shrugged, unperturbed, "So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later."**

" **Wow, totally feeling the love here, Sammy," Liv sneered, not amused at her cousin's indifference. Jessica shifted uncomfortably at the family spat, and Dean placed an arm around Liv, calming her down before narrowing his gaze on a mildly guilty Sam, "Dad's been on a** _ **hunting**_ **trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days."**

At the word 'hunting', Artemis straightened her posture, her expression shining with palpable interest.

 **Sam's expression remained stoic for a few beats before he sighed loudly and cast an apologetic glance toward Jessica, "Jess, excuse me. We have to go outside."**

"Hunting trip?" Chris asked, not really expecting an answer.

Dionysus however, _benevolently_ offered one, "A bear probably made a snack out of him. Or possibly, a wolf. Depending on the location he chose to hunt." His dismissive comment had him on the receiving glare of many, most especially Aphrodite, who seemed to be invested in the wellbeing and happiness of the family; her heart truly bled for poor John who had lost the love of his life in the most excruciating way.

Ariadne sighed at the teenagers, "You'll have to excuse my husband. He has a… _questionable_ sense of humor."

Percy snorted at that, sea-green eyes shining with amusement. "You don't have to explain anything to us, Lady Ariadne. We're uh, well, all of us are quite versed in Mr. D's… um," he scratched his head as he tried to narrow down the appropriate term.

"Misanthropic," Annabeth piped up. "Misanthropic behavior."

 _Zeus_ actually _laughed_ at the two demigods in Dionysus's expense and Ariadne considered Percy and Annabeth with an appraising smile, "You all seem familiar with my husband."

"He _is_ the Director of Camp Half-Blood," Connor pointed out.

Dionysus groaned loudly and conjured a glass or wine, hastily transforming into a can of Diet Coke after Zeus's not so subtle clearing of his throat. "You mean I'm still stuck with you brats? Oh, but of course I am, forced for a _century_ of servitude!" he dramatically sneered.

Grover nervously stuttered, "If-if it m-makes you feel any better, Lord Zeus shortens your, uh, 'rehabilitation sentence' at Camp Half-Blood from a hundred years to-to f-fifty." It was a minuscule disclosure of the future. Baby steps. The eighteen agreed to feed the gods events from the future slowly, sort of like the opposite of ripping off a bandage.

"I do?" " _He does_?" Zeus and Dionysus spoke over each other in confused disbelief, and excited wonder, respectively.

"Why?" Athena asked, suspicious. The group from the future looked away and stubbornly kept their mouths shut, much to the Olympians and Ariadne's annoyance. It was too soon to rehash the intricacies of the Second Olympian War.

 **Sam, dressed in jeans and a haphazardly thrown on hoodie stood outside his apartment by the stairwell, his arms stubbornly crossed together. "I mean,** _ **come on**_ **. You can't just break in, middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you two," he argued.**

" **You know, for somebody who got admitted into Stanford, you're quite stupid," Liv snapped, pushing herself from the wall she had been causally leaning against to get in Sam's face. "Are we speaking Chinese to you?! Uncle John's** _ **missing**_ **. Your** _ **DAD**_ **is missing."**

 **Dean quickly stepped in, placing his firm hands on her biceps and moving her away from Sam's line of vision, "Alright, short-stuff, breathe in and out, cool it."**

 **Liv huffed at him and grumbled, "Stop calling me short, Dean! I'm** _ **not**_ **short."**

" **Yeah, well, compared to me, you kinda are, shortcake," Dean flippantly retorted, his jade eyes shimmering with joy upon noticing that he succeeded in making her smile.**

"Olivia is easily angered," Triton remarked.

Ares paled slightly, a mixture of pensiveness and frustration coloring his handsome features.

"Oh, but Dean and Liv are so close," Aphrodite cooed, eyes sparkling with joy. "Look how quickly he is to tame her anger and make her smile. Adorable. _Simply adorable_!"

Percy, Jason, Thalia, and Nico smiled at each other. They may fight like dogs and start many arguments with each other, at times using their abilities instead of their words, but at the end of the day, they were family, _cousins_ , and no matter what, they'd always be there for each other. _Hades_ , when Thalia and Nico found out that Percy was missing – _cough_ , kidnaped by Hera, _cough_ – they went ballistic, and Thalia threatened to abandon the Hunters after they refused to offer aid in her search for Percy. Thankfully, the moment Artemis discovered her favorite male was missing, she didn't need any convincing.

 **Sam warily regarded Dean and Liv, and seeing that she was calm, continued with relish. "You remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's** _ **always**_ **missing, and he's** _ **always fine**_ **," he reasoned.**

"Poltergeist?" "Devil's Gates?" Chris and Nico piped up at the same time, the inflection of their voice laced with heavy confusion. Even the gods appeared to be at a loss for words as they mulled over Sam's strange choice of words.

Rachel hesitantly spoke up, "Poltergeist likes Peeves?"

"Harry Potter's a work of fiction, Rach," Annabeth sighed, though she looked frustrated over the fact that she was equally clueless as the rest, and by the looks on Athena's face, so was she.

Simultaneously, the entire room shifted their questioning gaze toward Hades, who had a perplexed frown on his face, one finger stroking his lower lip in deep thought. Belatedly noticing the attention fixated on him, and some on his wife and even Hecate, Hades slowly assembled a sentence, each word weighing heavily on his tongue as he tried to make sense of the oddity, "Perhaps the word poltergeist is a fancy terminology for a ghost that had been summoned, or have yet to move on? As for Devil's Gates, I believe, and this is all guesswork-" he shifted in his seat, head regally held high, "-John may be a clear sighted mortal and chanced a gander at one of the entrances to my domain. However, such a postulation could be contradicted as there are no entrances in New Jersey," he grimaced upon concluding his sentence.

"Yes, but… Dean used the word 'hunting'. John was on a _hunting trip_ when he disappeared," Apollo reminded them, his gaze halting on Artemis. Said goddess shook her head in befuddlement, "Yes, but ghost-, I'm sorry, _poltergeist_? I do not hunt ghosts. They are not part of the hunt, and I have yet to cross paths with a wandering ghost in all my millennia."

Nico frowned; as a son of Hades, he had the ability to summon, see, and commune with ghosts, but other than _Minos_ , he snarled at the mere thought of that manipulative bastard, the only ghosts he had seen were during his stints in the Underworld or if he explicitly summoned them, _like Bianca_.

" **Not for this long," Dean stated, turning his attention from Liv to Sam. "Now, are you gonna come with us or not?"**

 **Sam shook his head defiantly, "I'm not."**

 **Liv groaned, and while she appeared relatively calmer than before, her eyes still had a certain fire to it as she spat out two words, "Why not?"**

" **I swore I was done hunting.** _ **For good**_ **," he reminded his brother and cousin.**

"There's that word again. Hunting," Hermes sighed; whatever the Fates tasked them with watching, it was leaning heavily toward a mystery thriller documentary than an informative one, leaving them with more questions than answers.

" **Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad," Dean cajoled, following Liv downstairs. Sam, followed them, breathing heavily, face tight with disbelief, "** _ **Yeah**_ **? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45!"**

Hera gasped loudly, appalled at the certain discovery. "He gave his son a _gun_?!" she screeched.

The demigods all snorted, but the sound wasn't one of amusement, but resentment. The gods looked at them questionably, and Percy was only too glad to elaborate. "We-" he waved his hand in a circular motion, showcasing himself and all the other demigods, "-can relate. I mean, depending on what age we make it to camp, if we actually manage to survive long enough to get there, that is-" the gods winced, "-instead of being handed a gun, we're given swords, daggers, a bow and arrow – whatever, and are given a grueling schedule for training. I mean, the woods are filled with monsters _for_ training. We're given a weapon at a young age, meant as an extension of ourselves, with the hopes of surviving past sixteen. So again, we can relate."

Hera snapped her mouth shut, all disapproval at John diminishing as she was shocked into silence. The gods weren't faring any better, most particularly the ones that sired demigods, and they all shifted uncomfortably in their thrones. They didn't know their children had it _that_ bad in life, and they were slightly ashamed at their shortsightedness regarding the matter.

Only Ares looked unperturbed. Well, _slightly_ unperturbed – he wasn't heartless, contrary to the majority's beliefs.

 **Dean scoffed, not bothering to look back at Sam, "Well, what was he supposed to do?"**

" **I was** _ **nine years old**_ **!" the volume of Sam's voice increased. "He was supposed to say, 'don't be afraid of the dark'."**

"Uh, I was _seven_ when I was first handled a blade," Annabeth put in, the look on her face could not be mistaken as disapproval toward Sam and his whining.

Athena winced.

 **Liv stopped marching down the stairs and turned around to gape at Sam, her expression incredulous, "Don't be afraid of the dark? Are you** _ **shitting**_ _ **me**_ **, Sam?!** _ **Of course**_ **you should be afraid of the dark. Knowing what we know, how** _ **we**_ **grew up, how can you not be?"**

"I am even more confused," Chris muttered to his brothers, both of whom nodded in agreement.

"Maybe they know about monsters," Piper hypothesized, prompting all the attention to turn to her and she burrowed herself deeper in Jason's arms. Kicking off her shoes, she settled her feet on Leo's lap and said, "I mean, maybe the reason Sam never went to camp was because John taught him all he needed to know at a young age to fight against them? Maybe Dean and Liv are clear sighted mortals as well and they were also trained to defend themselves."

Zeus frowned, though not in anger, but in thought, "That's a bit of a stretch, young demigod. It is possible. But somehow, I doubt it." And to everyone's surprise, Hades, out of all the gods, agreed with his youngest brother's assessment, "As do I. A family of clear sighted mortals, while possible, is extremely rare. This boy, Sam, if he truly is a demigod, he should know that his scent would never allow him to escape monsters and lead a normal life."

Hecate pondered the Lords' words, thinking that with an enchanted talisman spelled by a powerful child or legacy of hers, evading monsters was a huge probability.

Piper pouted but nodded, concluding that the two brothers of the Big Three made a decent point.

 **Sam was silent for a moment, almost contemplating. "Yeah, I know," he sighed. "But still. The way we grew up, after Mom was killed, and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her. That killed them-"**

" _ **Don't**_ **!" Liv hissed, interrupting Sam. "** _ **Don't**_ **talk about it. I don't want to-, I don't want to hear it. Let's just go Dean, I told you Sam was a lost cause." and with one last glare at Sam, Liv made her own way outside and left the brothers alone.**

"Killed _them_?" Grover inquired.

"Liv's parents, maybe," Nico inserted with a shrug. "It makes sense. I mean, think about it. From the looks of it, Liv's an orphan. She's related to that family either through John or Mary, and you can tell from their dynamics that she's extremely familiar with them. Meaning her parents died when she was real young and going by the way Sam worded it and Liv's reaction, her parents were most probably murdered."

Thalia made an impressed face, "Wow, Death Breath, that was very insightful. When did you get so smart?"

Nico stuck his tongue out at her, "I may not look it, but I'm older than _all_ of you."

Will groaned, though the corner of his lips twitched, "We get it already. Stop bringing that up."

"Children," Hera sighed, she truly despised being around demigods for long periods of time. "If you are done, let us continue watching." Only Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Athena, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus and Hermes noticed the looks of deep disdain and a few of hatred on the demigods, the Oracle and the satyr's faces that were directed solely on Hera.

 **Dean looked pained and Sam shifted guiltily on his feet. "I didn't mean to upset her… I forgot that it's a rough subject to bring up around her."**

" **Yeah well, you've been gone for a long time, Sam. She's still not ready to open up about it," Dean sighed loudly, rubbing his forehead. Sam lightly punched the wall, "We still haven't found the damn thing, Dean. So we kill everything we** _ **can**_ **find."**

 **Dean nodded, expression solemn, "We save a lot of people doing it, too."**

"They're starting to sound more and more like the Hunters of Artemis," Leo piped up.

Artemis scowled, inwardly agreeing with the twitchy boy, though it made absolutely _no sense_!

 **After a brief pause, Sam said, "You think Mom would have wanted this for us?"**

The ambience turned solemn upon hearing Mary's name. While every single person in the room were no stranger to death and the cruelty that is life, there was a difference between hearing about a death or a murder, and seeing it happen with their own two eyes: a young, innocent mother of two, a wife, being murdered in such a brutal way, right in front of her six-month-old son, and then watching as her husband mourned her death, trying and failing to save her, or at least preserve her body from disintegrating into ash in the violent flames.

 **Dean aggressively rolled his eyes and slammed the door open, storming over to his car where it sat in the parking lot, Liv sitting on the hood of the car in a lotus position. Upon seeing Dean's heavy scowl, she smirked, "Lemme guess, Sammy-boy brought up Aunt Mary?"**

 **Ignoring the question, Dean half-heartedly snapped at the brunette, "Liv, my Baby isn't a bed. Get off, c'mon."**

Leo whistled appreciatively, and he wasn't the only one, "Now that's a classic car!"

Ares admired the car, deciding the next time he took his chariot out for a spin, he'd have it transformed into the Impala. Aphrodite's eyes gleamed as she stared deeply into her lover's eyes and a lustful grin made an appearance on his handsomely scarred face, reading her thoughts without any effort. Aphrodite will be joining him for a little romp in the Impala for sure.

" **The weapon training-" Sam caught up with Dean, having apparently decided to follow him, "-and melting the silver into bullets? Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors."**

"And you should be proud of it, punk," Ares growled, he was officially a fan of John's.

Poseidon sighed and sent a kind smile toward Piper, who looked slightly flustered and taken aback at the kindness the Sea God bestowed her with, "Unfortunately, my dear, my brothers' suspicions are correct. Silver doesn't affect monsters, so it is safe to assume the family is unaware of our existence."

Piper nodded and blushed, returning Poseidon's kind smile before whispering into Percy's ear, "Your Dad's really cool." Percy grinned, pride shining in his eyes and the other demigods pulled a face of mock jealousy. It was true though, Poseidon was unlike all the other Olympians, he didn't look down at demigods and seemed the friendliest and parental one of them all, Hermes and Apollo a tie for second place.

Thalia, Jason and Nico grudgingly concurred; as children of the Big Three, their lives weren't just dangerous because of their potent scent and their powers, but their respective fathers, or more specifically, their relation with one another. Due the rivalry between Zeus and Hades, Nico's life was in danger and his mother was killed due to his blasted lightning bolt, forcing his father into hiding him and Bianca for seventy years at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. In return, when Thalia's existence became common knowledge, the Lord of the Dead sent his most fearsome monsters after her, which had a bittersweet ending when she was turned into a Pine Tree for over seven years. The same could be said for Zeus and Poseidon; Percy wasn't allowed to travel by air for fear of Zeus' retribution… even when using cars as a mode of transportation didn't protect him from Zeus' wrath as the aforementioned car hit Smelly Gabe's car with a lightning bolt when he was first making his way to Camp Half-Blood with his mother and Grover. Or even the bus with Annabeth and Grover right after they were attacked by all three Furies.

But Poseidon? He never took his anger at his brothers out on their children, or held a grudge when Zeus was the first to break his oath (twice) and father Thalia Grace, and he never, to this day, made an attempt on their lives. They were allowed to swim to their heart's content and travel by sea without the fear of being drowned by the Sea God. So yeah, Poseidon was the coolest and most likable from the gods, and they were slightly jealous of Percy.

" **So what are you gonna do?" Dean asked, turning to face Sam. "You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?"**

 **Sam shook his head, his posture slightly defensive, "No. Not normal.** _ **Safe**_ **."**

" **And that's why you ran away?" Liv demanded, her tone a smidge softer than before. Dean looked away and Sam elaborated, now speaking directly to Liv, "I was just going to college. It was** _ **Dad**_ **who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."**

"What a horrible thing to say," Hestia gasped.

" **Bull," Liv snapped, not missing a beat. "Uncle John says things he don't mean sometimes and you know that. Just say it as it is. You took that as an opportunity to ditch us without feeling guilty."**

" **Look Sam," Dean spoke before his brother could get a word in, "Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already. I can feel it."**

 **Sam opened his mouth to retort, met the fire blazing in Liv's eyes and looked down. After a short pause, he sighed and looked up, "What was he hunting?"**

Artemis wasn't the only one to lean forward in anticipation. Finally, they were going to receive some answers to the puzzling enigma.

 **Liv's expression softened and there was a ghost of a smile on her face as she joined Dean at the trunk of the Impala. Dean opened the trunk, and then proceeded to open the spare-tire compartment with the butt of a shotgun, showcasing the clutter of arsenal.**

Ares whistled loudly, tremendously impressed at the wide range of weapons.

"The only weapons missing are swords and a bow and arrow," Triton marveled.

"Who _are_ these people!?" Clarisse whispered in awe, eyes abnormally round as she studied the weapons.

 **Dean dug through the clutter, "All right, let's see, where the hell did I put that thing?"**

" **So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked.**

 **Liv, who was helping Dean riffle through the clutter, absently offered Sam a response, "We had our own gig down in New Orleans. Some voodoo thing."**

 **Sam's eyebrows were dangerously high as his eyes flickered between Dean and Liv, disbelief evident on his face, "Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourselves?"**

 **Dean paused and met Sam's hard gaze, "I'm twenty-six, dude." Sam's eyes bore through Liv, to which she rolled her eyes and after grabbing a folder, snarkily remarked, "Stop harping on about me being too young, Sam.** _ **Anyways**_ **," she stressed, pulling out some papers from the folder, "Uncle John was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy-" she handed Sam one of the papers, "they found his car, but he vanished."**

" **Completely MIA," Dean added.**

 **The camera homed in on the page in Sam's hand; it was a printout of an article from** _ **Jericho Herald**_ **, headlined "Centennial Highway Disappearance" and dated September 19** **th** **2005\. There was a picture of a man, captioned "Andrew Carey MISSING". Sam glanced up at the other two, "So maybe he was kidnapped."**

"I don't understand. Just because some guy turned up missing, doesn't automatically assume a monster was involved," Rachel commented, frowning at her friends. "There's plenty of cases in the world regarding missing children, abducted people held for ransom, or just murder victims whose bodies were never found."

Leo chuckled, trying to make light of the situation with his own brand own humor, "Way to be morbid, Rach."

"I'm just saying it like it is," Rachel shrugged, lips twitching. "Most of you are year-rounders at camp, so you don't have much experience with the brutality of the mortal world. But crime is a part of the everyday life. It may sound harsh, but nowadays people barely even flinch when they look through the newspapers or watch the news reporting about a new missing kid or some murder." She shrugged again, "You don't have to be a literal monster to perform acts of cruelty, believe me. There are _a lot_ of mortals that could make monsters look innocent." Most of the demigods and a few gods looked slightly disturbed at the Oracle's colorful explanation.

Percy grimaced, "I have to agree with Rachel. After Smelly Gabe went 'missing' they closed the case after _one_ week. Nobody batted an eyelash."

"Who's this, Smelly Gabe?" Poseidon inquired, steadily meeting his son's gaze. Percy's nose wrinkled in disdain and he had a slightly closed off expression, "My uh, ex-stepfather." Poseidon frowned, inwardly making a promise to discuss the matter further with Percy in private.

" **Yeah. Well, here's another one in April," Dean tossed over another** _ **Jericho Herald**_ **as he mentioned each date, "Another one in December 'oh-four, 'oh-three, ninety-eight, ninety-two, ten of them over the past twenty years." He then took the articles back from Sam after he was done skimming them and returned them back in the folder. "All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road."**

" **Dodgy? I think yes," Liv mumbled pulling a bag out of the trunk and tossing it over to Dean.**

Rachel hummed, "Those are all signs pointing to a serial killer."

 **Dean rooted through the bag and grabbed a handheld tape recorder, "It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. We haven't heard from him since, which is bad enough."**

 **Liv nodded fervently, eyes sparkling with worry, "How many times did he have it ingrained in our heads to always keep in touch at least every night. Max, two? Anyways," she shook her head and jutted her chin toward the tape recorder, "We finally got a voicemail from him yesterday."**

 **The recording sounded heavy with static, the signal clearly breaking up, but John's gravelly voice went through, permeating the air, "Dean…something big is starting to happen…I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may… Be very careful Dean. Take care of Olivia, don't separate! We're all in danger."**

 **Dean pressed the stop button.**

"Danger? What danger?" Kate mumbled to herself.

Persephone cocked her head to the side, "His choice of words does seem very… peculiar."

The demigods, Grover and Rachel shot each other wary glances, all of them wondering if it had anything to do with Kronos arising. The date did seem to correlate with the time Kronos began influencing Luke, the date around two months before he stole the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness.

" **You know there's EVP on that?" Sam said in an instructor tone of voice.**

"What's EVP?" the Stolls chanted, before looking at each, identical smirks on their faces.

The gods and demigods were absolutely oblivious, which mostly irritated the gods as they liked to think they knew everything there was to know about anything, most especially Athena. Much to everyone's surprise, Rachel promptly answered, "Electronic Voice Phenomena – EVP. Basically it's sounds found on electronic recordings that are interpreted as the voices of ghosts. Usually it's unintentionally recorded, 'cause the most popular belief is that mortals cannot see ghosts."

"And uh, I'm almost too afraid to ask, but, how exactly do you know this?" Thalia warily asked, glancing at the redhead with slight trepidation. Nico and Hades looked positively curious, their eyes burning a hole through her skull.

Rachel giggled and smiled cheekily, "Ghostbusters."

Apollo and Hermes burst out into laughter, and Percy, the Stolls, Chris, Frank, Piper and Katie were quick to join in, all of whom actually managed to watch that movie. Hazel, Nico, Jason, and Thalia looked even more confused. Rachel elaborated for their sake, "Uh, it's kind of a comedy movie about four men that hunt ghosts." They nodded, though the look on confusion had yet to abate.

" **Not bad, Sammy," Dean smirked, nudging Liv softly. "Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?" Sam shook his head. "All right. I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got," Dean pressed play once again.**

 **A whispery voice, that sounded definitely feminine and positively miserable said, "I can never go home…"**

 **Dean pressed stop.**

" **Never go home," Sam repeated. Dean dropped the recorder, put down the shotgun and evenly met Sam's gaze. Liv shut the trunk and leaned against it, arms folded as she stared between the two brothers. "You know, in almost two years we've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing," was all Dean said.**

 **Sam couldn't meet his gaze. Sighing, he nodded, "All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him.** _ **But**_ **I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here." He turned to go back to his apartment when Dean called out, "What's first thing Monday?"**

" **I have this…I have an interview."**

 **Liv rolled her eyes. Dean gaped, "What, a job interview? Skip it."**

"He most certainly will not ' _skip it_ '!" Athena snapped, scandalized. "What is wrong with those two?! They should be proud of Sam's accomplishments."

Percy shrugged, "Yeah… but no offense, Lady Athena. But if my Mom is missing, I'm pretty sure finding her would be my first priority." His friends chuckled at that, recalling Percy's odyssey to the Underworld to bring back his mother from Hades, all the odds against him, all the monsters that stood in his way, and the impending war between his father and uncle be damned.

Athena harrumphed and looked away.

Poseidon offered his son a cheeky wink.

" **It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate," Sam explained in exasperation. "So we got a deal or not?"**

 **Liv sneered and clambered into the backseat, "Whatever."**

 **The scene changed. Sam was in his bedroom packing a duffel bag. He pulled out a large hook-shaped knife and slid it inside just as Jessica walked in. "Wait you're taking off?" she asked, incredulous. "Is this about your dad? Is he all right?"**

" **Yeah. You know, just a little family drama," Sam said, trying to keep his voice casual. As Sam rummaged through the drawers for a couple of shirts, Jessica sat on the edge of the bed, analyzing him, "Your brother said he was on some kind of hunting trip."**

" **Oh, yeah, he's just deer hunting up at the cabin, he's probably got Jim, Jack, and José along with him. I'm just going to go bring him back."**

Dionysus scoffed, "Such cheap taste. Wine is much better than common whiskey and tequila." His eyes glazed over at the thought of wine, itching to snap his fingers and conjure himself a glass of his finest.

Zeus rolled his eyes at his son but made extra care to avoid the glare of promised death Ariadne sent him.

 **Jessica looked dubious, "What about the interview?"**

" **I'll make the interview. This is only for a couple days," Sam reassured her. Jessica followed him around the room, trying to stop him, "Just stop for a second. You're sure you're okay?"**

 **Sam let out a short laugh, "I'm fine." He didn't sound it. Jessica wrapped her arms around him, "It's just…you won't even** _ **talk**_ **about your family. And now you're taking off in the middle of the night to spend a weekend with them? And with Monday coming up, which is kind of a** _ **huge**_ **deal."**

"Yeesh, woman! She's very clingy," Connor wrinkled his nose. The words barely escaped his lips when he found himself being attacked by painful slaps across the head, courtesy of Katie, Rachel, Annabeth and Piper. "Ow! OW! _Girls_! Travis! A little help he- _ouch_ , gerrof!"

Travis smirked, "You made your bed, now you have to lie in it."

Hermes chuckled, pitying his son for his huge faux-pas.

"There's nothing _wrong_ with a girl showing concern over her boyfriend's actions," Clarisse snapped, the other girls finally allowing a red-faced Connor a breather. "He's got an important job interview and all of a sudden his family shows up out of the blue and drags him along somewhere. She has a right to be worried."

A few gods fondly smiled at the demigods, while others, _cough_ , _cough_ , Hera, adopted an irritated glare.

" _Fine_! Next time I'll just keep my thoughts to myself," Connor huffed, faking annoyance.

" **Hey. Everything's going to be okay. I will be back in time, I promise," Sam kissed her cheek and left.**

 **The screen turned black for a brief second before the words 'Jericho, California' appeared at the bottom of the screen. Heavy music played in the background as a young boy drove down the highway, talking on his cellphone.**

Ares leaned forward, his interest peaked as he realized their curiosity was about to be satiated. Artemis however, spoke the words aloud, "I believe this to be the highway Dean spoke of earlier."

" **Amy, I can't come over tonight," the boy said. Listening to the girl on the other end, he reasoned, "Because I've got work in the morning, that's why…" a brief pause, "Yeah, okay, I miss it and my dad's gonna have my ass."**

 **A high-pitched whine could be heard. The boy ducked his head slightly to see through the window, and the camera focused on a woman standing by the side of the road, dressed in a plain white dress. She moved forward, the movement appearing as though she were dancing; her entire frame flickered and she vanished.**

"What?" some demigods spat out.

Nico grimaced, "Definitely a ghost then. But what's she doing out of the Underworld?"

"Security must be lacking," Demeter mocked her brother. However, much to the entire room's surprise, the Lord of the Dead didn't rise to his whiny sister's bait, he simply shook his head, flummoxed and heavily perturbed by these turn of events, "I don't have security. It was never required. Once the Judgment Pavilion has delivered the dead's verdict, they are physically and spiritually unable to leave their post, unless summoned."

Hera scowled, "Perhaps you sired another spawn then."

Nico, Percy, Thalia, Jason and Annabeth glared daggers at the Queen of Olympus.

Before Zeus could dramatically summon a thunderstorm and rant about the oath, Hades firmly refuted Hera's censure, "I have not. My last lover was Maria di Angelo. And I only have two children, as Nico already informed you, they are in the Lotus Hotel in Las Vegas and I ensured they had no memories of me whatsoever. I had Alecto take them to River Lethe before depositing them there, so no Zeus, Hera, this is not of my or mine's doing."

Nico flinched at the mention of his mother and sister, but other than that subtle reaction, he remained impassive and wholly indifferent to the stares he received. He was quite used to people instantly pointing blame at his father, despite them not having valid proof.

"What about the girl? The child of your Roman aspect?" Athena demanded, jutting her chin toward Hazel who looked severely uncomfortable with all the attention fixated on her. Nico and Frank moved to sit protectively in front of her, in the case of Zeus losing his temper and sending a lightning bolt at her before listening to reason.

An indecipherable glint passed through Hades' eyes as he met Hazel's demure gaze, "I know not of the reason behind her revival. Last I checked she was in Asphodel."

"And she still is," Nico cut in, his voice firm. "I won't get into it, as it's a long story, but she got out in the future. Hazel's currently not responsible for these events." Zeus, Athena and Hera glared at Nico and Hazel before looking away; Hades however, studied his children a moment longer, confusion the main emotion on his visage, and his fear regarding Bianca's fate surged.

"Then," Hestia softly cut in, not wishing for the quarrel to escalate further, "We must ponder the reason behind this ghost's appearance and not attack one another without _concrete_ proof, _yes_?"

 **Slightly spooked, the boy ended the call, "Hey, ah, Amy, let me call you back?"**

 **The music kept flickering, sounding more like static then music, and he tried turning the radio off, to no avail. The woman dressed in white reappeared before him, and he pulled over. Up close, he could see her dress was torn in several places and she was barefoot. He leaned forward, "Car trouble or something?"**

 **There was a long pause filled with heavy silence before the woman finally spoke, "Take me home?"**

" _Hey_! That's the- that's the voice from the voicemail Dean got from his father!" Annabeth excitedly pointed out; nothing got her more excited than the deciphering of an extremely puzzling riddle and receiving answers to her questions.

Athena smiled proudly at her daughter.

Clarisse shook her head, "I don't think that's a good thing, princess."

Annabeth mock-glared at her, "I never said it was. Just connecting the dots."

 **The boy opened the passenger door from the inside and smiled, "Sure, get in."**

 **The women climbed in and closed the door.**

"Wait a sec," Nico spoke so abruptly, a few of his friends jumped in their seats and the scene paused, prompting a scowl out of Hera, who had had more than enough of the demigods and their _constant_ interruptions, and Ares who had been looking forward to some action. "She _closed the door_. Aren't spirits supposed to be unable tointeract with the physical world? Shouldn't they be, I dunno, intangible?"

"That's-" Zeus frowned, finding merit in the spawn of Hades' deduction, "The boy makes a valid point."

Chris shrugged, voice uncertain, "So maybe she's not a ghost then?"

" **So, where do you live?" he asked, starting the car again.**

 **Her answer was short and brisk, "At the end of the Breckenridge Road."**

 **The boy nodded and after a pause gave her a side-glance, "You coming from a Halloween party or something?" The woman offered no reply. He raked her form, noting that her dress was very low-cut and he looked away, laughing nervously. "You know, a girl like you really shouldn't be alone out here."**

"Is that the mortal boy's despicable attempt of light-hearted flirtation?" Artemis growled, scandalized at the boy for harassing the woman due to the amount of skin being shown on display. "You see?! _You see_?! All men are nothing but chauvinistic _swines_. If I am to assume correctly, the girl on the phone is his girlfriend! Unacceptable behavior-"

Apollo groaned, "Ugh, give it a rest, Artie. We get it. You don't like men. You've been wearing the t-shirt for _over_ four thousand and six hundred years, give or take a decade."

A few gods and demigods couldn't help but laugh, desperately attempting to muffle the sound lest they suffer Artemis's wrath.

" _Don't call me Artie_!" Artemis hissed in retort.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus shouted, effectively ending their escalating argument.

Artemis however, much to Aphrodite's amusement, grew even more scandalous and outraged as the scene progressed, the woman's actions harrowing her, almost as though she was personally insulting the virgin goddess of the hunt.

 **She shot him a mournful look and pouted her lips in a seductive manner, fingers slowly, almost tantalizingly, pulling the skirt of her dress over her thigh, displaying a generous amount of creamy skin. "I'm with you," she whispered, licking her lower lip.**

 **The boy abruptly looked away, taken aback by her brashness, but the woman apparently didn't like that, for she grabbed his chin and turned his face toward her. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked, coquettishly. He nodded, eyes lingering on her cleavage, "Uh-huh."**

Apollo smirked; he, like Aphrodite, was enjoying the look of utter outrage on his sister's face.

Thalia shook her head, unlike her mistress, she didn't seem too bothered by the flirtatious banter, but she did have a bad feeling that something was terribly amiss. Didn't the woman flicker and disappear for a moment? Telling by the looks on Nico, Percy, Jason and Annabeth's faces, they were thinking amongst the same lines as her

" **Will you come home with me?" she purred.**

" **Um. Hell yeah."**

"Yes. Cheat on your girlfriend. Typical," Hera sneered, not liking this mortal.

Zeus shifted uncomfortably in his throne and avoided his wife's glare.

 **The scene shifted, showing an old rusty-looking house at the end of a road that was obviously abandoned. The woman stared sadly at it.**

" **Come on. You don't live here," the boy frowned, looking from the woman to the house oddly.**

" **I can never go home," she said, sounding miserable.**

Amphitrite adopted a pensive frown, "Why does she keep repeating those words?"

"Like I said before. Peculiar," Persephone hummed noncommittally.

" **What are you talking about? Nobody even lives here. Where do you live?" He turned to face her, only to find himself sitting alone in the car. The backseat was also empty. Nervously, he got out of the car. "That's good. Joke's over, okay? You want me to leave?" But there was no sign of life, only the crickets that could be heard chirping nearby.**

 **He walked towards the house, calling out for her.**

 **The camera showed the inside of the house, and it homed in on a picture of the woman and two children, a girl and a boy; the picture was covered in heavy dust.**

"I don't like this," Rachel shivered, allowing Katie to pull her in for a comforting hug.

Grover shook his head, "I know it doesn't add up, but she's definitely a ghost."

 **Freaked out, the boy rushed back to his car and drove off.**

 **Back in the highway where he initially came across the woman, he kept looking behind him, frantic. There was no one there. Turning back around, he yelled upon seeing the reflection of the woman in the rearview mirror. The woman appeared in the backseat. He drove straight through a "Bridge Closed" sign, stopping halfway across the bridge.**

 **Terrified screams could be heard and blood spattered the windows.**

 **The screen turned black.**

The throne room was engulfed in a heavy silence.

"He's dead. Isn't he?" Katie hesitantly asked.

"Most probably," Annabeth looked pained at having to say it. "That woman's definitely a ghost."

Nico didn't look so certain, "I don't know, Annabeth. She's corporeal. Maybe she's a monster and the Mist manipulated everything we saw."

"Young man, this is not the working of the Mist," Hecate stated, as Goddess of the Mist, she would know, and that was the only reason why Nico dropped the subject.

"Nico, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's a damn duck!" Thalia snapped.

Nico scowled at her and looked away.

"You guys done?" Hermes asked, amused.

 **The Impala was parked in front of a pump. Dean could be seen coming out of a convenience mart nearby, carrying a heap of junk food. Sam sat shotgun with the passenger door open, riffling through a box of tapes.**

" **Hey!"**

 **Sam leaned out to get a better look at Dean.**

" **You want breakfast?" he offered. Sam shook his head.**

 **At that moment, Liv groaned from the backseat. She was splayed out, with her ankle boots hanging out the window and a navy-blue beanie covering her face.**

"She is such a darling," Aphrodite fondly cooed.

" **You got me Cheetos?" she asked, tossing the beanie beside her and leaning forward expectantly. Dean grinned and tossed her the orange bag of chips. "Awesome. Thanks!" and she proceeded to open the bag and dig in, ignoring Sam's look of distaste and his comment of, "That's not breakfast, Liv."**

Demeter frowned and the moment she made a clucking noise with her tongue, the gods and demigods in the room groaned, preparing themselves for the goddess's harping. "Sam is correct! She should at least have some cereal. Or a nice bran muffin. Not greasy chips. Tis not healthy!"

" **So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Sam's voice was laced with disapproval.**

"They live a dishonest life," Ariadne frowned.

 **Liv rolled her eyes again and got out of the car to stretch her legs, still munching happily on her bag of chips. Dean put the nozzle back on the pump, "Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career. Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards."**

" **Yeah?" Sam glowered, swinging his legs back inside the car and closing the door. "And what names did you write on the applications this time?"**

 **Liv snorted, eyes dancing with mischief as she got back in the car. Dean shot her a mock glare as he got into the driver seat and put his soda and chips down, "Burt Aframian. His son Hector and his daughter Florence. Scored three cards out of the deal." He closed his door.**

" **That sounds about right," Sam absently said. "I swear, man, you've got to update your cassette tape collection."**

"Cassette tapes? Oh come on dude, this is the 21st century! Get with the times," Connor snapped his fingers.

Thalia scowled, "There's nothing wrong with being retro, Connor."

"The 20s, the 60s, 90s, they were _the_ best eras," Apollo smiled, expression nostalgic. Aphrodite, Hermes, Ares and Poseidon nodded in agreement, their eyes slightly glassy as they recalled a few special memories. Percy had a sinking feeling that they were all remembering past lovers and he shuddered, not wanting an image of his Dad and some chick in his head.

" **Why?" Dean asked.**

 **Sam arched a brow, "Well, for one, they're** _ **cassette**_ **tapes-**

"That's what I said," Connor cried out, only to be met with a slap, courtesy of Thalia.

 **-and two; Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" with every name, he held up their tape.**

Ares scowled, "What a punk. They are the best rock bands."

" **Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy are** _ **awesome**_ **, Sam. Don't knock 'em," Liv championed as Dean took the box labeled Metallica from Sam and popped a tape in the player.**

The war god nodded, mollified, "At least the girl's got good taste." though those that intimately knew Ares sensed that something was really bothering him.

"Hold on. I just realized something," Percy looked as if an epiphany struck him, and he sat up ramrod straight like a lightning bolt hit him from where he sat. "Sam _read_ the bands' names from the cassettes. And before, at the parking lot, he _read_ the newspaper. He's not dyslexic."

"Meaning he's not a demigod," Frank concluded, finishing off the son of Poseidon's line of thoughts.

Poseidon couldn't help but feel impressed with his son, though the gods weren't as glad to be back at square one. Persephone sighed, "Then what demigod were the Fates talking about?"

"Perhaps it's someone that has yet to be introduced but would show up later," Hestia hypothesized. Athena nodded, "But it doesn't explain the events that took place twenty-two years ago. Whoever murdered Mary set their eyes on Sam. Sam was the intended victim for some perplexing reason."

"Well, we won't know until it's revealed to us, so let's just continue watching," Apollo concluded, putting an end to the debate.

 **Sam scoffed, "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."**

" **Well, house rules, Sammy-" Liv chanted the next part with Dean, "-Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts their cakehole." Dean winked at Liv and Sam glared at them before saying, "You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old. It's Sam, okay?"**

 **Dean proceeded to higher the volume, "Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud." and he drove off, Liv's laughter meshing with AC/DC's 'Back in Black'.**

"AC/DC's awesome!" Connor cheered, high-fiving Travis. "I take back my previous comment."

 **The screen showed the Impala drive past a sign that said "JERICHO 7", before it shifted to Sam thanking somebody on the other end of the line before closing his phone and addressing Dean and Liv, "All right. So, there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or the morgue. So that's something, I guess."**

 **Dean glanced over at Liv from the rearview mirror and gave her a soft smile, then looked back at the road. Liv could be seen drumming her fingers nervously against her jean-clad thighs, eyes rotating at a fast pace until they settled on something in front, "Check it out."**

 **Sam leaned forward to get a closer look. At the bridge ahead of them, there were two police cars parked and several officers scattered around.**

 **Dean pulled over and all three of them took a long look before Dean turned off the engine. Leaning forward, Dean opened the glove compartment and began pulling out a box filled to the brim with ID cards, pictures of John, Dean, and Liv emblazoned on them and a few with Sam's.**

Rachel sucked in a sharp breath and she leaned closer to the screen, blinking madly as though to double-check she wasn't imagining things. "Wow. That's quite an impressive collection. FBI. DEA. If those are borrowed or stolen they'd be charged with fake ID crime. It's a felony in some states."

"Credit card scams, fake IDs, a trunk loaded with arsenal," Clarisse listed, ticking them off on her fingers, "This family is definitely not normal if they've managed to sail through many crimes and not get caught. I don't know if I should be impressed or scared."

Leo grinned from ear to ear, "I'd go with impressed."

 **Dean flashed Sam a grin and picked one out for him. Reluctantly, Sam took it and got out of the car, but upon seeing Liv right behind Dean, he stopped in his tracks, "Uh, Liv, maybe you should sit this part out, you know. Wait in the car."**

 **Liv looked affronted, "And why,** _ **Sammy**_ **, would I do that?"**

" **Because,** _ **Olivia**_ **, you're** _ **sixteen**_ **! They'll easily see through our disguise and bust us," Sam heatedly retorted, totally ignoring a wide-eyed Dean, who was making a cutting motion through the air behind Liv's back in an attempt to get Sam to stop talking. She gazed at Sam with a flinty stare, and without another word, stormed over to the crowd of officers.**

Ariadne had a soft frown on her face, "I understand where Sam is coming from. They are already carrying out unlawful acts and Olivia is a teenager. He is protective of her-"

"Don't forget that the brothers won't be mistaken as children," Athena haughtily interjected. Apollo scoffed at the brainiac, "Are you kidding me? When Liv first appeared onscreen, every single person in this room believed she was older than her true age. If Sam didn't keep announcing her age, we'd still be fooled."

Annabeth hesitantly spoke up, "Besides, I can sort of relate to her situation. Sam is determined to treat her as though she's a silly kid and is inferior to him. Dean obviously trusts her otherwise he wouldn't let her get involved and make her wait in the car. And she did say they had some case in New Orleans when John went missing. Now Liv's going to go out of her way to prove to Sam that she's not a kid."

The room was deathly silent once Annabeth stopped talking. A few demigods and Grover gave her encouraging smiles and the gods couldn't help but feel that they were missing something vital. Thankfully, Athena despised being kept in the dark, "You're saying you went through a similar incident?"

"Well, since it's 2005, you already know I made it to camp when I was seven, I mean, you kind of sent Grover to me," Annabeth and Athena smiled at each other. "I was one of the youngest demigods at camp, and well, I was always known as little Annie. My siblings kept codling me and even as I got older, they never took me seriously. That's one of the main reasons why I was desperate to go on a quest, to prove myself-"

Dionysus grunted, "Yes, yes. Annie Bell keeps hounding Chiron for a quest. It's frankly annoying. But then again, all your brats are." Those gods that had children at Camp Half-Blood glared at the wine god in deep umbrage and disapproval, though none more than Athena, who glowered at her brother and snapped, " _Annabeth_ ," to which he merely waved his hand and mumbled "whatever."

"Then Percy arrived at camp, got a quest shortly after and allowed me to join him. When we returned, I finally gained the respect I yearned for and nobody treated me like a kid anymore."

To the demigods, the memory of that quest was a sharp reminder of the beginning of the Second Olympian War, and the moment where Percy and Annabeth sort of became their leaders. But to the gods, they found too many things wrong with Annabeth's speech. For Poseidon, it was the fact that his son received a quest not long after he arrived at camp, which worried him. To Athena, she didn't trust the sea spawn with her precious daughter, and it all proved her point that Percy Jackson was a bad influence and would only bring danger into her daughter's life.

"What quest?" Zeus demanded.

 _Oh, the irony_ , the future teenagers thought.

Percy grimaced, "Uh, a story for later."

 **The car belonging to the boy that was attacked by the woman dressed in white could be seen in the middle of the bridge; the blood however, was gone. The deputy stood at the driver's side, peering into the interior of the car, "No sign of struggle, no footprints, no fingerprints. Spotless. It's almost too clean.**

 **Dean and Sam could be seen in the background, walking into the crime scene like they belonged there. Liv was nowhere to be seen.**

" **So, this kid Troy. He's dating your daughter, isn't he?" an officer asked. The Deputy sighed and nodded. "How's Amy doing?"**

" **She's putting up missing posters downtown."**

 **Out of nowhere, Liv approached them dressed in a charcoal gray skirt suit, looking like she meant business, "Last month, there was another case just like this one. Suspiciously spotless. Too clean. Hence, foul play. The assailant knows how to cover their tracks."**

 **The Deputy and the Officer turned to Liv, the former with a mixture of surprise and the latter with fascination. The Deputy stepped forward, "And who are you?"**

"She's good," Will nodded, while Leo looked even more enthralled than before.

 **Liv smiled, displaying a perfect set of white teeth, "Federal Marshal. The agency sent me and two others to start our own investigation since this place seems to be a hotspot for many crimes and I don't believe the assailant is a copycat."**

" **Aren't you a little young for a marshal?" the officer asked. Liv chuckled, "I get that a lot, officer. One of the reasons I made it to the top was because people have a** _ **nasty**_ **habit of underestimating me." She didn't give the gobsmacked men an opportunity to make a comment as she turned around and beckoned Dean and Sam over.**

Apollo had a dazed expression on his face, "She should go into theater. She's really good."

Poseidon erupted into a bout of booming, hearty laughter, "She'd definitely beat Zeus in the theater department."

Zeus glowered at his comedian of a brother, not amused in the slightest.

" **You haven't answered my question, Deputy," Liv reminded him.**

" **Last month, we had another about a mile up the road. There've been others before that," he supplied. Sam nodded, averting his eyes from Liv's form, "So, this victim, you knew him?"**

 **The officer sighed, "Town like this, everybody knows everybody."**

 **Dean circled Troy's car, inspecting it, "Any connection between the victims, besides that they're all men?"**

" **No. Not so far as we can tell," the officer replied. Liv smiled at him, "What theory have you come up with."**

 **It was obvious that the officer was quite taken with Liv, which disgruntled Sam.**

Ares scowled and quickly shook his head. Aphrodite subtly glanced at her lover, confusion heavy on her gorgeous features. She strongly believed Ares developed a crush on the girl and was jealous at the cute officer's reaction to her. But the truth was, Ares was annoyed at the answer that kept eluding him. For some confounding reason, the girl seemed familiar to him; the war god felt as if he should _know_ her, but he kept coming up blank and he was very close to bursting a vessel.

" **Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?" the officer answered.**

 **Dean smiled sarcastically, "Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys-" Sam quickly stomped on his foot, effectively silencing him. Sam curtly nodded at the Deputy and the officer, "Thank you for your time, gentlemen."**

 **Liv brushed her hand against the officer's forearm, eyes wide with innocence, "I apologize for my partner, officer, deputy. He has a mouth filter problem."**

" **Yes well," the deputy puffed up and acknowledged her with a small smile and the officer beamed brightly at her. Liv smiled, "Well, I better be off. The case won't solve itself."**

 **The camera shifted; Sam and Dean were heading over to the Impala, and Dean smacked Sam on the head.**

" **Ow! What was that for?"**

"Obviously for stepping on his foot," Nico mumbled

" **Why'd you have to step on my foot?" Dean retorted.**

 **Sam scowled, "Why do you have to talk to the police like that?"**

 **Dean moved to stand in front of Sam, forcing him to stop walking. "Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."**

"Where is Olivia?" Ariadne asked; she appeared to have taken quite a liking to the girl, prompting a muted groan from Dionysus. Despite Theseus' betrayal, Ariadne never lost her certain fondness in regards to demigods. He didn't like it, but he learned to accept it. But now? Now his beloved wife was starting to grow fond of a silly mortal girl. _Di immortales_!

"She stayed behind to cover up Dean's faux-pas," Aphrodite simply stated.

 **Sam cleared his throat, looking over Dean's shoulder. Dean turned to see the Sheriff and two FBI Agents.**

Rachel groaned loudly, "Oh, they are _so_ going to get busted!"

"Maybe not," Connor weakly rebutted.

" **Can I help you boys?"**

 **Dean smiled confidently at the Sheriff, "No, sir, we were just leaving." He then nodded as the FBI agents passed them and said, "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully."**

Percy, the Stolls, Chris, Clarisse, Will, Rachel, Piper, Leo, and Frank collapsed into laughter, confusing their friends. Even Hermes and Apollo understood, and chuckled lightly. Out of breath, the Stolls wheezed, ribs hurt from the intense laughter and Rachel actually fell on Leo as she had lost her balance mid-laughter.

Thalia, Jason and Nico traded disgruntled looks at yet another joke escaped them. First Ghostbusters, now this? They really needed to get up to speed on stuff that didn't include divine and monstrous entities. Hazel cleared her throat, amusement shining in her eyes at her boyfriend's carefree attitude, "Would any of you mind clueing us in?"

Leo's chuckles interspersed with his explanation, "Mulder and Scully. They're FBI special agents in the series 'The X-Files, and-and-"

"Scully. Agent _Dana_ Scully is a girl," it was a wonder how Rachel managed to string along that sentence, her face was an alarming shade of red, almost as red as her shocking hair.

Percy then pointed at the screen, where they could clearly see, the agent that had been called Scully by Dean, glaring at his retreating back in huge offense. Catching his breath, Percy rewound his arm around Annabeth's waist, "Ah, we really need to educate you guys in pop-culture."

Hera glowered at them, "Are you done?"

Thalia sneered, "Yes, _your majesty_."

Hera harrumphed, not detecting the sarcasm or the amount of loathing that caressed the daughter of Zeus's words, but the other Olympians, Hades, Hecate, Hestia and Persephone did, and what they realized staggered them. For not only was Thalia glaring at the Queen of Olympus with malice, but each and every one of the teenagers from the future. They decided to ponder over the anomaly later, and perhaps inquire about it when they paused for lunch.

" **Bravo Dean. Questioning the guy's masculinity, you're just calling for trouble," Liv snarked, joining Dean and Sam. Dean smirked. Sam went to open his mouth but Liv merely glared at him and walked faster, walking in front of the brothers instead of beside them.**

 **Dean sighed and shook his head at Sam.**

 **The focus shifted; a young woman with chestnut hair could be seen ambling down the street, tacking up posters with Troy's face and a caption "MISSING TROY SQUIRE".**

The demigods squinted, all sixteen of them huffing in aggravation.

"What does it say?" Chris groaned. Grover beat Athena to the punch, "Missing, Troy Squire."

Percy grinned, "Thanks G-Man."

" **I'll bet you that's her," Dean said, eyes focused on the young woman.**

 **They approached her and Liv bluntly inquired, "You Amy?"**

" **Yeah," Amy confirmed. Dean nodded, "Yeah, Troy told us about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy. And Liv here is our cousin." Amy nodded at each one of them as Dean made the introductions, then said, "He never mentioned you to me."**

 **Dean chuckled and shrugged, seemingly not bothered, "Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."**

" **So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around," Sam added.**

 **At that moment, a girl that appeared to be around Amy's age came over and put a hand on Amy's arm in a comforting manner, "Hey, are you okay?" Amy sniffled a "yeah" before Liv cut in, "I know this is hard and all, but we're worried about Troy as well. Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?"**

"Those three are naturally born liars," Hermes smirked, impressed.

Hera however, was not. "That's not an endearing trait, Hermes!" she scowled.

Nico shrugged, "Depends on how you look at it."

"Yeah, sometimes lying is necessary for survival," Clarisse grunted.

Hermes winked at the son of Hades and the daughter of Ares while Hera grew more incensed.

 **The five of them sat in a booth in a diner. Dean and Sam were sitting opposite Amy and her friend, while Liv sat at the head of the table.**

" **He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked. But Amy shook her head, "No. Nothing I can remember."**

 **Liv's eyes were narrowed, and the camera homed in on a pendant coiled around her neck: a pentagram in a circle. "I like your necklace," she commented. Amy's gaze lowered and she laughed, "Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents with all that devil stuff."**

 **Dean caught Liv's eyes as Sam studied the necklace. "Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe that kind of thing," Sam explained.**

 **Liv could be seen absently fingering a thin metal chain around her neck. The pendant couldn't be seen as it was tucked under her shirt.**

" **Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries," Dean commented offhandedly. He then leaned forward, expression solemn, "Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard** _ **anything**_ **…"**

 **Amy and her friend traded a meaningful look. It didn't escape Liv's attention, "What is it? You two know something."**

 **Amy's friend hesitantly spoke up, "Well, it's just… I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk."**

"What do they talk about?" Percy and Jason chorused, leaning forward, obviously getting into the story. Annabeth and Piper stared at their respective boyfriends in amusement.

" **What do they talk about?" Dean and Sam said together.**

Thalia laughed, "Wow, you guys think alike."

Jason frowned, though his lips were twitching, "You say it like it's a bad thing."

" **It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like** _ **decades ago**_ **," Amy's friend elaborated; at the encouraging nods Dean, Sam and Liv gave her, she continued, "Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever."**

 **Dean, Sam and Liv looked at each other, expressions grim.**

"And that sounds like the beginning of a ghost story people usually make a point to talk about whenever they're sitting around a campfire in the woods," Rachel muttered, goosebumps taking residence on her arms.

Triton cocked his head to the side staring at the mortal girl that hosted the spirit of Delphi oddly, "And why would mortals do such a thing?" A few demigods jumped, and instantly looked away with sheepish expressions – they had forgotten that Triton was in the room as he barely spoke.

Rachel smiled, shrugging a shoulder, "It's sort of a… rite of passage."

"Yeah, well. This _isn't_ a ghost story," Nico obstinately commented.

Thalia scoffed, "Oh come on. You saw that woman disappear and reappear. If she's not a ghost then do tell, what is she?"

"I don't know! But she was corporeal, Thalia! I mean, unless Melinoe was involved. She does have control over ghosts. Maybe she summoned her and made her solid, but then why would she intervene on mortals' lives?" he asked rhetorically, sounding slightly snappish at the mention of his half-sister he utterly loathed as much as Hera. Thalia's fists clenched as well at her name and Percy winced, recalling their last standoff.

It was almost instantaneous. Every god shifted their stares from the squabbling demigods, to Hades and Persephone. Hades sighed gloomily, "My daughter has no grudge with mortal men."

Seeing her father's skeptical expression, Persephone cut in before Zeus could put her foot in her mouth and instigate another argument, "Melinoe is not to blame. _End of discussion_!" She was fiercely protective of her children and her tone brooked no argument.

 **A quick survey showed a library, before the shot zoomed in on the screen of a computer. The web browser was opened on an archive search for the** _ **Jericho Herald**_ **. Fingers skated through the keyboard and on the screen, the words "Female Murder Hitchhiking" were typed into the search box. The curser clicked on GO.**

Percy groaned and frantically rubbed his eyes, "This is murder on my dyslexic eyes."

"Oh don't be so dramatic-" Athena's scolding abruptly halted when she saw that the other demigods, including her daughter, sported pained expressions, rubbing their eyes and trying to lean forward to better read the words on the screen.

A sympathetic sigh emanated from Rachel's mouth and Grover immediately tackled the issue, translating the words on the screen for his friends' sake. The satyr and the Oracle had long ago gotten used to aiding their demigod friends when it came to their dyslexia and they never needed any prodding or encouragement in the issue.

"Is it that bad?" Hestia gently inquired, her childish features scrunched with pity.

Katie nodded, expression downtrodden, "It's like the words are dancing before our eyes and if I concentrate deeply, I sometimes get a migraine. I mean, it's like that because we're hardwired to Ancient Greek, which is cool. But the language isn't commonly spoken anymore."

"And for some of us who actually like to read, it can be very annoying," a miserable Annabeth grumbled. Percy gave her cheek a chaste kiss before saying, "Also it's detrimental to our grades at school, and our teachers have a habit of judging us as lazy kids or delinquents. So that's another problem for us demigods."

The gods analyzed their children with sad eyes, not having anything to say that could cheer them up.

 **Receiving zero results, Dean replaced "Hitchhiking" with "Centennial Highway" only to get the same response.**

This time, Rachel translated.

" **Let me try," Sam impatiently stepped in, only for Dean to smack his hand and snap, "I got it." But Sam shoved Dean's chair out of the way and stubbornly took over. "Dude!" Dean growled, hitting him in the shoulder, "You're such a control freak."**

 **The camera shifted to show Liv sitting on a chair beside the quarrelling brothers with her eyes closed, lazily rocking backwards and forwards on the chair. It looked like she was about to topple over, but at the last minute, she'd expertly move forward and then rock backward again on the hind legs of the chair.**

" **So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" Sam asked, the shot never leaving Liv's face. She scrunched her nose and absently murmured, "Yeah."**

" **Well, maybe it's not murder," Sam reasoned.**

Hades' black eyes glittered with interest.

"Uh, is that true?" Nico hesitantly asked his Dad. Hades' orbs collided with Nico's, "While the dead is my domain, I am afraid to say that this surpasses even my knowledge. Their ideas may be far-fetched, but then again, I do believe the Fates have a reason for having us witness this. Perhaps they wish to open our eyes to matters we never knew existed."

 **Sam typed on the keyboard, replacing "Murder" with "Suicide" and an article appeared, entitled "Suicide on Centennial".** **Dean glanced at Sam, who opened the article, dated April 25, 1981.**

" **Can you guys read it out loud please," Liv asked, eyes still closed.**

 **Dean acquiesced without argument, "A local woman's drowning death was ruled a suicide, the county Sheriff's Department said earlier today. Constance Welch, 24, of 4636 Breckenridge Road-**

"That's were the ghost appeared to Troy," Travis put in.

Thalia smacked a hand over Nico's mouth before he could initiate another argument regarding whether or not that woman was a ghost. He grumbled and glared at her, to which Thalia glared back, not intimidated.

 **-leapt off Sylvania Bridge, at mile 33 of Centennial Highway, and subsequently drowned last night. Deputy J. Pierce told reporters that, hours before her death, Ms. Welch logged a call with 911 emergency services. In a panicked tone, Ms. Welch described how she found her two young children, 5 and 6, in the bathtub, after leaving them alone for several minutes. She reported that their complex, blah blah blah," Dean mumbled, skimming the page before picking up again, "What happened to my children was a terrible accident. And it must have been too much for my wife. Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it," said husband Joseph Welch. "Now I ask that you all please respect my privacy during this trying time." At the time of the children's death and Ms. Welch's subsequent suicide, Mr. Welch was at the Frontier auto salvage yard, where he works the graveyard shift as associate manager. "Connie might have been quiet, but she was the sweetest, most caring girl I ever knew," said Deanna Kripke, a neighbor. "She just doted on those children." what else," he murmured to himself.**

 **Liv's eyes were now opened, narrowed at the opposite wall, deep in thought.**

"That's terrible," Ariadne sympathized. "While I do not agree with suicide, I cannot imagine how she felt after lose her children due to her neglect."

It wasn't a funny matter. Not even a smidge. But Percy, Annabeth and Grover were fighting off smiles as a sudden memory hit them, eyes dancing with mirth. Piper frowned, "I don't see how this is funny, you guys."

Annabeth quickly shook her head, "No, no. It's not that. It's just-" she bit her lip in the hopes of repressing her laughter, prompting Percy to take over, "Well, you know my first quest included getting into the Underworld. So, well, uh," he sheepishly scratched the nape of his neck, "we needed to give Charon an excuse about how we died so he can let us pass. And uh-"

The demigods were so entranced in Percy, Annabeth and Grover recounting a tale out of the most infamous quest, that they didn't notice every single god in the room were focused on them, capturing each word; when the daughter of Athena previously mentioned Percy receiving his first quest upon his arrival to camp, Poseidon never dreamed of it comprising a visit to the Underworld, and fear gripped his heart.

"Wh-When Charon asked us how we died, well, I-I-" Grover flushed a dark magenta and sent a half-hearted glare at Percy and Annabeth, both of whom had actual tears streaming down their cheeks. "The first thing I could think of was that we uh, drowned."

Jason looked nonplussed, "I don't get what's so funny."

"He didn't say it right," Percy huffed, eyes twinkling with mischief at his red-faced friend, "Grover said we drowned in a bathtub. All _three of us_. At the _same time_. _Together_ …"

It took a second to process Percy's words before the other demigods and Rachel broke into laughter at Grover's expense. "I was under pressure. It was the first thing I could think of," he brayed.

"Yeah, 'cause that makes a load of sense. The son of the Sea God died by _drowning_. Well done, Grover," Clarisse smirked.

Noticing it was too silent in the throne room, the teenagers halted in their laughter and their eyes widened upon seeing the white-faced and wide-eyed gods, most notably-

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THE UNDERWORLD?!" Poseidon boomed, gripping his Trident tightly. At the same time, Athena shrieked at Poseidon, "Your son is a bad influence on my daughter! I knew nothing good could come of that _friendship_ ," she sneered. None of the demigods corrected the Goddess of Wisdom – they didn't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when Athena discovered that her daughter wasn't _friends_ with Percy, but his _girlfriend_.

Hades however, reacted to the news quite differently, and he peered at the two demigods and the satyr in a combination of interest and respect, "You entered my domain and escaped unscathed. How remarkable."

Percy, Thalia and Nico traded an amused smirk – _more than once_ , they thought at the same time.

Once the hyperventilating Sea God and Athena relaxed, they returned their attention to the screen, though not before sending their respective child a pointed look that screamed 'we _will_ be talking about this later.'

 **Sam scrolled down, showing a picture of Constance.**

"HA!" Thalia let out a yell of victory. "That's the woman who intercepted Troy! She died _twenty-four_ years ago. You can't argue against the ghost theory anymore."

Nico sullenly looked away, "She could be a zombie."

Hades and Persephone grimaced; they didn't want to question Melinoe, but as Hades' only living demigod children were unavailable, it left their daughter, the Goddess of Ghosts.

" **The bridge look familiar to you?" Dean asked, looking at a picture of Joseph Welch next to the Sylvania Bridge. He then turned to look over his shoulder to better see Liv, "Why're you quiet all of a sudden?"**

 **Liv pursed her lips and stood up, "I just… I think Constance killed her kids. I mean,** _ **hello**_ **, a five and six year old** _ **both**_ **die in the same bathtub at the same time? How deep was the water? Come on, something isn't right."**

 **Dean and Sam looked at each other and grimaced.**

Hera looked horrified, "What mother would kill her children? Olivia _must_ be wrong!" Everyone, _everyone_ , fixated Hera with a disbelieving, judgmental stare. "What?" she snapped.

"Really? You did not just say that," Ares gaped, her comment succeeding in snapping him out of his long reverie.

"You _hurled_ me off Mount Olympus because I didn't fit into your prefect world and _perfect_ expectations!" Hephaestus sneered, old wounds opening up once again.

Hera pursed her lips and looked away, "Don't be ridiculous, Hephaestus. You wouldn't have died."

"Like you knew that at the time," Dionysus mumbled, though everyone heard.

Hephaestus snorted rudely, silently agreeing with Dionysus.

"If the Goddess of Family didn't think twice about tossing her son away, and I say that lightly," Annabeth said, her voice steady, and her gray eyes piercing, "then any mother has the capability of murdering their own child."

 **The scenery changed; Dean, Sam and Liv were walking along the Sylvania Bridge, suddenly stopping to lean on the railing and look down at the river.**

" **So this is where Constance took the swan dive," Dean stated. Sam looked over at Dean, "So you think Dad would have been here?"**

" **He was chasing this story, and we're chasing him, so I'd go for a yes," Liv said, walking past the brothers, "we have to dig deeper until we find him, no matter how long it takes." She had a determined look on her face which quickly contorted into anger with Sam's next words, "Liv, I told you and Dean, I've gotta get back by Monday."**

 **Liv clenched her first and kept her mouth shut. Dean turned to look at Sam, "Monday. Right. The interview."**

"I don't like Sam," Percy shook his head, glaring at the screen.

Annabeth was torn, "He does have an important interview that could shape his entire future, Percy."

"Yeah, but his _father's_ missing!" Percy spoke up, as though that explained everything. "Nothing is more important than family, Annabeth."

"Percy," Thalia cut in, "You have a great relationship with your mother. I mean, Sally's awesome-" Amphitrite glared at Poseidon upon seeing his face brighten, cursing her husband's mortal lover in her head, "-she's a wonderful mother. You'd do anything for her. But… from what we've seen, Sam doesn't have a good relationship with his father. I'm not saying he shouldn't care about his wellbeing," Thalia quickly defended herself, "I'm just saying Annabeth and I can relate. His father basically threatened that if he left for college to never come back. And then he's supposed to drop everything for the guy that may not even be in trouble."

Percy grinded his teeth and looked away.

Athena and Zeus stared at their respective daughter in concern, wondering what Frederick and Beryl did to deserve such indifference.

" **Yeah, I forgot." Dean was starting to get riled up, "You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?"**

" **Maybe. Why not?" Sam retorted heatedly.**

 **Liv scoffed, joining the argument, "Because you're living a lie, Sam! Does Jessica even know the truth about you? About the world she lives in?! Does she know about the things you've** _ **done**_ **?!"**

 **Sam stepped closer to get in her face, and Dean shoved him back, green eyes darkening with a warning. Sam ignored Dean and glared at Liv, "No, and she's** _ **not ever**_ **going to know."**

" **Well that's healthy," Dean sneered, "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."**

"They make an excellent argument," Aphrodite hummed, wanting Sam and Jessica to endure – they made such a cute couple.

 **Dean took Liv's wrist and marched forward. Sam followed angrily, "And who's that?"**

" **You're one of us," Dean said, his voice firm. Sam didn't like that, and he hurried over to stand in front of his brother and cousin, "No. I'm not like you. Either of you," his chocolate orbs flickered between them, "This is not going to be my life."**

" **You're in denial," Liv glared.**

 **Dean nodded, "You have a responsibility to-"**

" **To Dad!" Sam shouted, his anger obviously reaching its boiling point. "And his** _ **crusade**_ **? If it weren't for the pictures I wouldn't even know how Mom looks like. And** _ **what difference would it make**_ **? Even if we do find the thing that killed them, they're** _ **gone**_ **! Mom isn't coming back, and neither is Aunt-"**

 **Fast as a whip, Liv raised her hand and slapped Sam, effectively cutting him off, the sound reverberating loudly in the night. Tears of anger brimmed in her dark eyes and her voice took on a menacing hint, "Don't you** _ **dare**_ **! Don't you dare bring my mother into this! Just because you've given up, doesn't mean we should! While you're off playing Ivy League, living your perfect apple pie life in bliss denial with your stepford girlfriend and friends, we've been going through hoops trying to avenge Aunt Mary and Mom. And I won't give up, not until I see that bastard dead by my feet. So run off, go live in denial. Continue living a lie, see-"**

" **Liv!" Dean interjected.**

Rachel grimaced. "This doesn't make any sense. The way they're speaking, it sounds like whatever killed Mary, also killed Liv's mom. Right?" she asked around.

"Like I said," Ares said, "It's personal. There's no other explanation."

"What could a mortal family have done to receive a monster's grudge?" Poseidon wondered aloud. Zeus however, was interested in something else, "What chance do mortals have against a monster? Guns and iron or steel blades are useless against them."

Leo frowned, "So basically, they're dead men _and_ woman walking."

 **Liv stopped upon hearing the urgency in Dean's voice and she sucked in a deep breath, eyes widening. Sam turned around, his expression mirroring Dean's and Liv's. They were no longer alone. Constance stood by the edge of the bridge, watching them and without warning, stepped off the edge.**

 **They ran to the railing and looked down.**

" **Where'd she go?" Dean asked.**

" **I don't know," Sam replied.**

 **Loud rumbling could be heard. In unison, they turned around, mouths agape. The Impala's engine had started, and its headlights were on.**

" **What the-" Dean gasped.**

" **Who's driving your car?" Liv asked frantically. Dean pulled the keys to the Impala from out of his pocket and jingled them. Sam and Liv glanced at it and the car jerked into motion, heading straight for them.**

" **Now would be a good time to run!" Liv shrieked.**

Nico sighed, posture slumping in defeat, "Okay. Fine. So Constance is a ghost. But it still doesn't make sense."

"I know, it's okay, Zombie Boy," Thalia joked, patting his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up, Pinecone Face!" Nico retorted without heat.

 **The Impala was faster however and as it got too close to them, they jumped over the railing and the car finally came to a halt.**

Gasps permeated the throne room and most of the females covered their mouths in worry.

 **It could be seen, that both Sam and Liv managed to hold on to the edge of the bridge. Wordlessly, they pulled themselves back up and jumped over the rail before looking down, yelling frantically for Dean.**

 **Down below, a vexed Dean crawled out of the water and the mud, panting and utterly filthy. "What?!" he shouted back, halting the other two mid-yell.**

" **You idiot!" Liv snapped in relief at the same time Sam called down to him, "Hey! Are you all right?"**

 **Dean held up a hand in an A-OK gesture, "I'm super."**

"Fast reflexes," Jason murmured, "That could've been an indicating sign of a demigod if it weren't for the fact that he doesn't have dyslexia."

Only Thalia and Piper heard him, which evoked thoughts of Liv, both of them wondering if maybe Liv was the demigod the Fates spoke of. However, they decided to keep those thoughts to themselves, for now, at least until they had more proof.

 **Dean closed the hood of his Impala and leaned on it, still looking agitated and filthy with muck.**

" **Your car all right?" Sam asked. Dean nodded, "Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a** _ **bitch**_ **!" he hissed.**

 **Liv shrugged, "Yeah well, we already highly suspect her of murdering her own children. Grand theft auto and attempted murder pales in comparison."**

"Way to be blunt about it," Katie wrinkled her nose, palpably disturbed.

 **Sam grimaced, "Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So, where's the job go from here, genius?" He moved to stand next to Dean, eyes flickering from him to Liv. Dean threw his arms up in frustration and flicked mud off his hands.**

 **Liv snickered, "Well, seeing as Dean smells like a toilet, I'd say shower." Sam laughed and Dean glowered at her, though his lips slightly twitched.**

 **The scenery changed to the interior of a motel.**

" **One room, please," Dean requested. He stood by the check-in desk , still filthy, with Sam and Liv right behind him, the latter scrutinizing her surroundings with an air of indifference. The second the clerk picked up the card of 'Hector Aframian' he cocked his head, "You guys having a reunion or something?"**

 **Liv jolted to the present, eyes narrowed on the clerk, "What do you mean?"**

" **I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month."**

 **Dean, Sam and Liv looked at each other.**

"That's definitely John," Percy smiled, sounding relieved.

Athena nodded curtly, "He reserved the room for an entire month, so it's safe to assume that he knew the others would come looking for him and it's highly probable he is no longer in town."

Nobody could argue with the Goddess of Wisdom.

 **A motel door swung open. On the other side, Sam stood up and pocketed a pin while Dean and Liv stood on either side of him as lookouts.**

"He could have been my son," Hermes grinned; looking up, he found that he was met with over a dozen questioning gazes, "I already told you he _isn't_ mine. I know the identity of every child of mine. Besides, we already agreed Sam isn't a demigod. He doesn't fit the description, remember."

"A pity," Hera sneered. Hermes rolled his eyes while his sons glared at her in contempt.

 **The three walked into the room. Every vertical surface had papers pinned to it: maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, notes. Books were scattered on the desk and assorted junk littered on the floor and the bed, including something with a hazard symbol.**

"The room is a junkyard!" Demeter tutted, her face heavily lined with distaste.

 **Dean turned on the light by the bed and picked up a half-eaten hamburger. He then sniffed it and recoiled. Liv wrinkled her nose as she stepped over a line of salt on the floor, "Ugh, Dean. Don't smell that. That's just nasty."**

" **I don't think he's been here for a couple of days," Dean remarked, tossing the burger in the bin. Sam bent down and rubbed the salt on the floor between his fingers before looking up, "Salt, cats-eye shells… he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in."**

"Cats-eye shells?" Connor stated, at the same time Travis muttered, "Salt?"

Clarisse shook her head, "Again. Who _are_ these people?!"

 **Dean scanned the papers covering one side of the wall. Liv took one look at them and groaned, rubbing her eyes violently before sharply looking away.**

Thalia and Piper frowned and shared another meaningful look. That reaction looked familiar, it was an expression most demigods, including themselves, had when words were unintelligible to them. But they needed more proof before pointing it out; though they were leaning toward _Olivia_ being the demigod.

" **Centennial Highway victims," Dean murmured. "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?" While he spoke, Liv made herself comfortable on the bed, sitting in a lotus position with her head buried in her hands, muttering to herself. Sam on the other hand, was scrutinizing the papers taped to the other walls.**

"What's a Woman in White?" Rachel asked, forgetting that only Grover was able to correctly decipher the article that Sam was currently looking at.

" **Woman in White," Liv mumbled loudly, breaking Dean and Sam's concentration. They both turned to look at her from over their shoulders just as she lifted her head, "This Constance chick. She's a Woman in White.** _ **She has to be**_ **!"**

"What's a Woman in White?" Percy, Nico and Thalia intoned, echoing Rachel, and then glared at each other for saying the same thing.

 **Sam nodded slowly, impressed at Liv. "She's right. Dad figured it out," he then pointed at the article pinned up. "He found the same article we did. Constance Welch is a Woman in White."**

 **Dean winked at Liv, pride palpable in his eyes, "You sly dog. Didn't I tell you, Sammy? Liv can handle herself." Sam cleared his throat and looked away. "All right," Dean clapped his hand and sat next to Liv on the bed, "If we're dealing with a Woman in White, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."**

"Excuse me?! Did I hear correctly or are my ears deceiving me?" Katie screeched, her face drained of its natural color.

"Are you telling me that they're also into grave desecration?! That's _another_ felony and a sick one, too! What the Styx!" Rachel snapped, positively furious.

Artemis looked scandalized, "They are no Hunters! For that title only belongs to honorable beings."

"I think you're being hasty in your opinions," Apollo was quick to defend; for some reason, he had adopted a soft spot for that family, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Olivia was one of _the_ most gorgeous women he had ever seen in all his millennia. "First we find corporeal ghosts wandering around killing mortal men at random, and then we discover she's called a 'woman in white'. That alone should be proof enough that there's something deeper and more sinister at play. I truly believe they are good people."

Poseidon nodded, "As do I."

"I concur with Apollo and Poseidon," Hecate claimed.

" **She might have another weakness," Sam pointed out.**

"It appears as though they are debating on the best method to eliminate this 'woman in white'," Hades stated, insinuating that he was in agreement with his brother, nephew and friend.

 **Liv shifted to a sleeping position and put her arms under her head eyes gazing solemnly at the ceiling, "Well, Uncle John would dig her up to make sure." She then turned her head a fraction to face Sam, "Does it say where she's buried?"**

 **Sam shook his head, "No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad though, I'd go ask her husband." He tapped the picture of Joseph Welch.**

"It says he's thirty in the article. Meaning he's sixty-four," Rachel read for them, garnering herself many grateful smiled from her friends and a nod from Clarisse.

Connor snorted, "That'd be a cheerful visit. Don't you think? Hello, Mr. Welch. Sorry to bother you, but did your wife by any chance, murder your children before jumping off a bridge?"

"Talk about sensitivity," Travis scoffed.

" **All right. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up," Dean started to walk away, but Sam stopped him. "Hey, Dean?" he stopped and turned back, expression inquiring. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry."**

 **Dean held up a hand, "No chick-flick moments."**

 **Sam laughed and nodded, "All right. Jerk."**

" **Bitch," Dean chuckled before disappearing into the bathroom.**

 **The room was too silent; turning around, his smile melted away upon seeing Liv standing in front of a large mirror, absently fiddling with a rosary that hung on the mirror. He slowly approached her, and his eyes slightly dimmed when he got a better look at her face – she looked absolutely miserable, and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears, her solemn gaze locked on a picture: John sat on the hood of the Impala, to his right sat a boy in a baseball camp and his left another, with unruly brown hair. On John's lap sat a tiny girl with shiny golden-brown locks, and his hands were securely holding her so that she didn't fall off. They all had bright smiles on their faces.**

 **Liv stroked John's face with a finger, "He's the only parent I have left, Sam."**

"They look adorable," Persephone cooed.

"What about her father?" Ariadne scowled. "From what we've heard, her mother is dead, but there hasn't been any mention of her father."

Hermes shrugged, "Maybe he's also dead."

"Or he walked out," Hazel added, a faraway look in her eyes.

Aphrodite narrowed her gaze at the picture, "Well, Olivia looks to be at least three years of age in the picture, meaning she lost her parents as an infant." Many in the room looked sad at the discovery.

" **We'll find him," his voice was firm, almost a promise. He then hesitated, "And, I'm sorry about before. The comment I made-"**

 **Liv shook her head and smiled at him, "Like Dean said. No chick-flick moments, dork."**

 **Sam laughed and playfully retorted, "Goof."**

 **The screen went black.**

"What's with the nicknames? I mean, jerk, bitch, dork, goof?" Chris asked, smiling.

"Inside joke maybe," Annabeth suggested.

 **Sam was pacing, phone in hand, listening to a voice message. Jessica's voice was saying, "Hey, it's me, it's about ten-twenty Saturday night –"**

 **A freshly clean Dean came out of the bathroom and grabbed his jacket shrugging it on one shoulder as he crossed the room. "Hey, man, I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. You want anything?"**

" **No," Sam said shortly.**

 **Dean then turned to Liv, who jumped out of bed, she too grabbing a leather jacket of her own, "Count me in. You know how antsy I get when I stay in one place with nothing to do."**

 **Dean chuckled and the two left the motel room, leaving Sam behind.**

Once again, Thalia and Piper traded a knowing look. If Liv really was a demigod, then that would be her ADHD in action. They really were surprised that no one caught on yet, especially Annabeth and Athena.

 **They were crossing the parking lot when Liv suddenly halted in her tracks, alarmingly taking in her surroundings. Dean looked over: a police car could be seen and the deputy and officer from earlier were chatting with the motel clerk.**

" _ **Shit**_ **!" Liv hissed when the clerk pointed right at them. Dean whipped out his phone.**

"I'm honestly surprised they went that long without getting caught," Rachel muttered, still miffed about the grave desecration comment.

Connor gaped at her, "Who's side are you on?"

"The side where the dead are respected and allowed to _rest in peace_ ," Rachel snapped.

 **The shot alternated back to Sam, sitting on the bed in the motel room, still listening to Jessica's message: "So come home soon, okay? I love you."**

Piper buried her head in Jason's chest, mortified with her mother's squeals of delight.

 **His phone beeped. Sam looked at it and pressed a button and placed it in his ear.**

"If any of them were a demigod, they shouldn't be able to use cellphones," Annabeth couldn't help but point out, but while everyone nodded, Thalia and Piper weren't sure.

" **What?" he said.**

 **Outside, the deputies approached Dean and Liv and Dean quickly hissed down the phone, "Dude, five-oh, take off."**

 **Alternating back to the motel room, Sam abruptly stood up, "What about you and Liv?"**

" **Uh, they already spotted us," Dean said, as the shot shifted back to the parking lot, "Go find Dad." He then hung up the phone and cockily grinned at the approaching deputies. "Problem, officers?"**

" **Where's your partner?" the one that showed a previous interest in Liv asked.**

" **I believe this is all a misunderstanding officers," Liv smoothly informed them, her stance was confident and she didn't look intimidated.**

 **Amy's father jerked his thumb toward the motel just as Sam darted away from the window.**

 **Ignoring Liv's statement, he continued, "So. Fake US Marshal. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?"**

" **My boobs," Liv grinned cheekily.**

Laughter reverberated against the walls.

"Oh gods, she did not say that!" Katie giggled.

Nico chortled, "She's like a female Percy!"

" _Hey_! I wouldn't do that," Percy retorted, though he was smiling.

Clarisse scoffed and pinned him a pointed glare, "Seriously? You forgot how we first met? Or what about your first Capture the Flag?"

"Or when you first met Ares," Grover added.

The aforementioned god arched a brow at the group, "Excuse me?"

"Uh, story for another day?" Percy asked, grinning like a lunatic; for some reason, up till now, the Ares of 2005 seemed more tolerable than the Ares of 2006.

 **Dean glowered at the officer as his eyes zeroed in on her chest.**

Ares found himself glowering as well, though only Aphrodite noticed with much confusion. She was more adamant to confront her lover once they took a break for lunch.

 **But before he could snap at the officer, Amy's father slammed Dean over the hood of the police car, "You have the right to remain silent-"**

 **The screen turned black.**

 **The Sheriff enters his office carrying a box which he set down on the table. Dean remained stoic as the Sheriff faced him. "So, you want to give us a real name?"**

"You know what I've just realized? We don't know their last name," Frank stated.

Hazel frowned, "That's odd. Why hasn't it been mentioned yet?"

Nonplussed, everyone from the future shrugged and then looked at the gods in question.

Apollo grinned, "I'm sure it'll come up soon."

" **I told you, it's Nugent. Ted Nugent," Dean responded nonchalantly.**

Apollo smirked, "No, it's not."

"He's not really good at coming up with aliases, is he?" Hermes laughed.

Nico scowled, "I don't get it."

Will grinned, "He's a musician, Nico." Apollo gave his son a conspiratorial wink.

" **I'm not sure you realize just how much trouble you're in here."**

 **Dean rolled his eyes, "We talkin', like, misdemeanor kind of trouble or, uh, squeal like a pig trouble?"**

The Stolls roared with laughter, muttering "like a pig" in between breaths.

"It's not that funny," Clarisse grumbled. Chris gave her a look and she smiled, "Fine maybe it's a little bit funny."

"My daughter's whipped by a boy," Ares muttered under his breath, "That's why I prefer having sons-"

"Oh, hush you," Aphrodite rebuked him, her gaze fierce. "I know for a fact that your son Ralph is heavily whipped by Tammi, a daughter of Demeter."

Ares scowled and looked away; he knew better than to argue with the goddess of love about matters of the heart.

" **You got the faces of ten missing persons taped to your wall," the Sheriff retorted. Dean looked away. "Along with a whole lot of Satanic mumbo-jumbo. Boy, you are officially a suspect. You and your lady accomplice."**

Hazel didn't look pleased, "Why isn't Dean worried about Liv?"

"I think he's confident in her abilities. Didn't he defend her against Sam?" Leo reminded her – he was such a fan boy, the girls thought with amusement.

 **Dean's voice was laced with sarcasm, "That makes sense. Because when the first one went missing in '82 I was three and she wasn't even born yet."**

 **The Sheriff didn't back down, "I know you've got partners. One of 'em's an older guy. Maybe he started the whole thing. So tell me.** _ **Dean**_ **." He tossed a brown leather-covered journal on the table. "This his?"**

 **Dean stared at it, an emotion akin to recognition on his face. The Sheriff sat on the edge of the table and proceeded to flip through the journal: it was filled with newspaper clippings, notes, and pictures, just like the walls in the motel room. "I thought that might be your name. See, I leafed through this. What little I could make out, I mean, it's nine kinds of crazy," he said, sounding disgusted. "But I found this, too," he opened to a page just as Dean leaned forward – "DEAN 35-111" was circled with nothing else on the page. "Now. You're stayin' right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means."**

Percy blinked at the screen, "That's not Morse Code, right?"

" _No_ ," Annabeth and Leo, the two Morse Code speakers from their group, said in unison.

Hermes, however, cleared his throat, a Cheshire smile visible on his face, "Actually kids, those are coordinates." Percy grinned sheepishly at the God of Travelers and Roads.

 **Sam's approaching form was reflected in the chain-link covered, grimy glass window. He knocked on the door beside the window, and an old man opened the door shortly after.**

" **Hi. Are you Joseph Welch?" Sam inquired politely.**

 **Upon receiving confirmation the scene changed; Sam and Joseph were walking down the driveway that was coated with junk, and Joseph had a photo in his hand, the photo Liv had been admiring in the hotel room of herself, Dean, Sam and John.**

" **Yeah, he was older, but that's him," Joseph affirmed, returning the photo to Sam. "He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter."**

"Now they're impersonating reporters, _too_?" Rachel grumbled; she didn't know why exactly she was taking it all so personally. Maybe it was due to the fact that unlike her demigod and satyr friends, Rachel lived in the mortal world all her life, making her more of a stickler for rules as she couldn't rely on the Mist to hide any misdemeanors.

Nico looked at Rachel in shock, "Yeah, well, how else are they supposed to get the information they need out of him? I mean, if someone came up to you and bluntly asked you to describe a real touchy subject just for the sake of curiosity, would you have?"

Rachel huffed in response and uncapped her pen, deciding to doodle on her jeans instead of answering. Aphrodite looked utterly appalled at the Oracle for disrespecting clothes.

" **That's right. We're working on a story."**

 **Joseph scowled, "Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on. The questions he asked me?" he shook his head at the mere thought of the questions, obviously displeased.**

 **Sam nodded, "About your wife Constance?"**

" **He asked me where she was buried," Joseph angrily imparted.**

"I understand where they're coming from, put in Joseph's point of view, it is very insensitive," Ariadne softly stated.

 **Sam nodded again, "And where is that again?"**

" **What, I gotta go through this twice?" he retorted heatedly. Sam quickly tried to appease the old man, "It's fact-checking. If you don't mind."**

"I'm inclined to believe that he _does_ mind," Annabeth stated. "Who would want to open up _that_ can of worms? Especially if Liv's theory is correct and Constance _did_ kill her children."

Percy grimaced, "I don't think he even _knows_ that his wife killed his children, Annabeth."

" _If_ she killed her kids," Grover pointedly reminded them.

 **Joseph revealed the location: a plot behind his old home over on Breckenridge. When Sam inquired over the reason behind why he moved, Joseph's agitated response was, "I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died."**

Chris winced, "I don't blame him."

Travis nodded wholeheartedly. "Yeah, I'd move too. Probably burn down the entire house while I'm at it," he murmured the last part for only Connor and Chris to hear; he didn't want to trigger Leo's memories of his mother's death.

 **Sam stopped walking and looked Joseph squarely in the face, "Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?"**

Hera's eyes narrowed.

" **No way. Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known."**

" **So you had a happy marriage?"**

 **Joseph hesitated; then said, "Definitely."**

"Liar!" Hermes and Apollo exclaimed.

Connor nodded, looking grave, "If you're going to say a lie, don't hesitate. Totally gives you away, man."

Percy nodded rapidly, his lips twitching into a smile, "Exhibit A. _Grover_."

" _What_?!" Grover pouted, affronted, "I'm not _that_ bad."

" _Really_?" Percy said, skeptically. "Does 'Mrs. Dodds' ring any bells?"

Annabeth giggled, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. The poor satyr blushed so hard, the color traveled up to his ear tips and down to his Adam's apple.

Dionysus rolled his eyes, unable to believe he was _willingly_ interfering in those brats' conversation, "Most satyrs are abysmal liars. It's an inborn trait of theirs."

"Wait, who's Mrs. Dodds?" Rachel inquired curiously. Even all the gods were looking at Percy inquisitively. Percy waved a hand, "Story for later?"

Groaning, the future demigods and Rachel grudgingly nodded. Hades and Nico however, looked thoughtful, ' _why does that name seem familiar?_ '

 **Thanking Joseph for his time, Sam walked toward the Impala, but on second thought, he paused and turned to look back at the widower. "Mr. Welch, did you ever hear of a woman in white?"**

" **A** _ **what**_ **?"**

" **A woman in white," Sam repeated, expression determined. "Or sometimes weeping woman?"**

Leo gasped loudly, capturing everyone's attention, "La Llorona!"

"La who now?" Frank frowned. Leo batted a hand in a hushing motion, wide brown eyes never detaching from the screen, prompting grumbles out of the son of Mars and even Annabeth looked disgruntled. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and Apollo, God of Knowledge, started racking their brainfor an answer and in unison, their expressions lit up in recognition.

 **Sam took a few steps towards an alarmed Joseph, "It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really. They're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately in Arizona-**

Clarisse shivered at the mention of her hometown and Chris tightened his arm around her.

 **-Indiana. All these are different women." Sam stopped in front of the widower, "You understand. But all share the same story."**

 **Joseph scowled; stance defensive and tone aggressive, "Boy, I don't care much for nonsense." He then walked away, but Sam stubbornly followed, his voice louder, "See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them-" Joseph halted and slowly turned around, "-and these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again."**

Many faces were gaping at the screen. Even Zeus, Poseidon and Hades shared dumbstruck expressions and Hera actually flinched as she noticed a few similarities between her reaction to her husband's incessant infidelities and the 'woman in white', though she never _murdered_ her children, and Hephaestus didn't count, no matter _what_ her children said.

"La Llorona," Leo calmly prefaced, suddenly nervous when not only his friends, but every single god, fixated him with their undivided attention, "is a Mexican folklore that can be either translated as 'The Woman in White' or 'The Weeping Woman'. Sam basically covered everything about the folklore. There are many versions, but the one I heard: There was this beautiful woman called Maria. She drowned her children so that she could be with the man she loved, but was subsequently rejected by him. Some say he was the children's father who left her for another rejection drove her insane with grief so she killed herself. And when Maria reached the gates of Heaven, she was asked for the location of her children and when she didn't know she was banned from entering Heaven until she found them. So she now wanders the Earth for all eternity, searching in vain for them. She is forever weeping for her lost children, which is why they call her La Llorona."

The silence was long and uncomfortable; the gods weren't as disturbed, but Leo's friends were all gaping at him in a mixture of horror and bewilderment.

"The boy is correct," Athena stated, Apollo nodding in agreement.

"But, how-how do you know this?" Katie asked, horrified.

Leo grimaced, his fists clenching at the memory. " _Raphael_ ," he spat the name out, "my, uh, cousin. He liked bullying me before you know, the _thing_ happened." His friends grimaced, 'thing' being code for 'Gaea'.

"How old were you when…" Annabeth uncomfortably trailed off. Leo smiled at her, though it looked bitter on his elf-like features, "Five. I had nightmares for months. Mom and Aunt Rosa were furious with Raffy." ' _Back then when Aunt Rosa considered me a beloved nephew and not the boy who murdered her sister_ ', he thought to himself.

Hephaestus glowered at the wall, extremely displeased at discovering his son's family bullied him, like his own brother Ares constantly did. With a swift side-glance, his fists clenched, noting that Ares looked unperturbed with his hand around Aphrodite. This was why he despised the Ancient Law; if Zeus would only retract that accursed Law, then he would have been able to intervene and probably prevented Esperanza's death, his son's future hardships, and the guilt he was suffered to live with.

"Nothing to be ashamed of man, I'd have nightmares too," Jason assured his best friend with a sincere smile. The other demigods, Rachel and Grover nodded in agreement, even Clarisse, which made Leo feel loads better. After all, a monster could be killed with a celestial bronze blade, but ghosts? Even _if_ they _do_ exist, they had a grim feeling that any kind of blade wouldn't work on them. ' _Wouldn't it just go through them?_ ' they thought.

" **You think…you think that has something to do with…Constance?** _ **You smartass**_ **!" Joseph inched closer, looking like he was about to beat Sam with his fists.**

"Why is it when somebody gets defensive or they're in denial they become violent?" Demeter wondered aloud. Nobody offered a response, though most of the gods in the room stared pointedly at Ares, who glowered back with a fierce glare.

 **Sam was undeterred, "You tell me."**

 **Joseph was now trembling, from grief or anger, it was impossible to tell, "I mean, maybe…maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!"**

"Well, that was a bust," Percy mumbled.

 **The scenery changed; they were back in the police station, in a different office. Liv sat between the wall and the table, a bored expression on her face, though her eyes looked calculating. The door suddenly opened, and the young officer from earlier who had been affected by Liv's appearance, entered, eyes boring into hers and he slowly licked his lips.**

 **Sighing, Liv brushed her shackled hands through her hair, the shot homing in on her hair for a second longer, before her hands returned to their place under the table. "Are these handcuffs necessary, officer?" Liv pouted.**

" **Well, you have been a** _ **very**_ **naughty girl," he replied.**

"EWW!" Annabeth, Katie, Rachel, Piper and Hazel exclaimed. Thalia and Clarisse however, looked outraged and began to loudly curse the sleazy officer.

Artemis' silver orbs darkened, "A man of the law? I _will_ be turning him into a jackalope!"

"This one will deserve it!" Poseidon growled, not liking the disadvantages Olivia was facing.

 **Liv's lips curled into a smile, though the watchers easily noted the fire burning in her eyes. "Are you flirting with me,** _ **officer**_ **?" she purred.**

"Disgraceful! She's encouraging him!" Athena spat out.

Zeus shook his head, "No, I believe she is procrastinating."

 **The officer leaned forward from the other end of the table, palms splayed on the tabletop and eyes shamelessly raking her cleavage. He licked his lips again and lowered his head so that he was directly facing her. "You know. With the right** _ **motivation**_ **I could probably manage to get you off with a warning," his voice darkened.**

Every single female in the room – demigod, oracle, goddess – they were all fuming with apoplectic rage. The males weren't any better, and even Dionysus's purple orbs seem to have adopted a sharp edge. Though must surprisingly of all, was Ares – he looked ready to burst a vessel, and his growl was almost animalistic, a growl that elicited shivers out of Percy, and he never feared the arrogant war god before.

" **Come closer," Liv whispered, sultrily.**

 **Their lips were a hairsbreadth away from each other, when all of a sudden, Liv's hands shot up, one of them was free from the shackles, while the other still had the metal coiled around her wrist. With the handcuffed wrist, she slammed the metal against the side of his neck and he fell unconscious almost immediately.**

Cheers erupted in the throne room, their voices filled with awe and laughter. The demigods were shamelessly clapping and Clarisse had a menacing grin on her face, impressed and taken aback by the skinny, unimposing girl that kicked the sleazeball's ass.

"She would make an excellent Hunter!" Artemis crowed, her twelve-year-old face shining in anticipation and excitement. Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, Apollo, Hermes and Dionysus however, traded uncertain glances, for they were dubious regarding the girl's maidenhood.

" **Sleazy pervert," Liv hissed, kicking the officer's chest as she stood up, "To protect and serve** _ **my ass**_ **!" She removed the handcuff from her remaining wrist, and after a second's hesitation, tucked it into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. Then, she inserted the black bobby pin into her hair and stealthily snuck out.**

"That's how she did it then!" Hermes exclaimed, impressed, eyes shining with mirth and pride as they all recalled the camera narrowing in on her hair when the officer entered the room. "Unfortunately, she isn't one of mine," he sighed, sounding glum. Disregarding her gorgeous looks and the fact that he was affected by her ineffable beauty, he would've been proud to be her father.

Rachel seemed to be warming up to the girl again, "I guess that answered my question of how they managed to evade the law."

 **The shot alternated, showing Dean, still in the Sheriff's office, the journal on the table. "I don't know how many times I gotta tell you. It's my high school locker combo."**

" **We gonna do this all night?" the Sheriff growled. Another officer entered the room at that moment, "We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road."**

 **The Sheriff nodded at him then addressed Dean, "You have to go to the bathroom?"**

"Say yes!" the Stolls exclaimed.

" **No."**

"Damn!" they groaned.

Thalia hissed at them, "Shush!"

" **Good." The Sheriff handcuffed Dean to the table and promptly left.**

 **The camera showed a paper clip poking out of the journal, and Dean pulled it out.**

"More thieves in training," Apollo chuckled. "They could all be yours."

Hermes grinned.

 **The door opened as Dean attempted to get out of the cuffs and his posture tensed. Looking at the door, he sighed in relief, "Liv. Thank god you're okay."**

 **Liv smirked and pulled out her own handcuffs, dangling it in the air, "Like you doubted me, cuz."**

" **Not even for a second," he admitted, sounding confident. A loud click resonated in the room as the cuffs on his hand opened. Liv rushed to the window and got to work on opening it, "We gotta leave before they notice the officer that was guarding me is knocked out."**

 **Dean looked amused, "I'm not even gonna ask." He then grabbed the journal and the two climbed down the fire escape.**

"That was too easy," Frank commented.

Ares scoffed, "Bunch of amateurs."

 **The scene alternated between Sam, who driving down the highway when his phone rang, and Dean with Liv in a phone booth.**

" **Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal," Dean grinned down the phone.**

"It is," Rachel grumbled, much to her friends and her patron's amusement.

 **Sam rolled his eyes, "You're welcome."**

" **Listen, we gotta talk," Dean said before the shot switched to Sam again, who retorted, "Tell me about it. So the husband** _ **was**_ **unfaithful. Tell Liv she was right. We** _ **are**_ **dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop."**

Piper was spooked, "Are they seriously going to dig up Constance's body?"

"I hope not," Hazel looked nauseated at the mere idea of what her corpse looked like after more than two decades.

" **Sammy, would you shut up for a second?" Dean snapped. Sam however, didn't listen, "I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet."**

Grover, Rachel, Hazel, Frank, Piper and Katie visibly blanched at Sam's words.

 **Liv rolled her eyes from beside Dean as he abruptly spoke into the phone, "Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad's gone. I've got his journal."**

 **Sam looked shocked, "He doesn't go anywhere without that thing."**

" **Yeah, well, he did this time."**

" **What's it say?"**

" **Ah, some old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going," Dean said.**

Poseidon and Ares were both impressed at hearing John used to be a Marine.

 **Sam nodded, "Coordinates. To where?"**

"I knew it!" Hermes cheered, looking quite ungodly at the moment.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "We never doubted you."

" **I'm not sure yet," Dean grimaced handing the journal over to Liv who started to leaf through it with a thoughtful expression.**

" **I don't understand," the shot alternated to Sam again. "I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?"**

Athena had a thoughtful frown on her face, "First they refer to their actions as 'hunting' now they claim it to be a job? I am facing trouble comprehending these mortals."

"How shocking. The Goddess of Wisdom doesn't know something," Poseidon drawled. Amphitrite and Triton groaned as the two began bickering, trading crude insults, until Zeus finally bellowed at them for silence.

Percy and Annabeth were torn between exasperation and amusement.

"We weren't like that, were we?" Percy asked in general, interlacing his fingers with Annabeth's. But before his girlfriend could offer a response, Grover, the Stolls, Thalia and Clarisse exclaimed, "You were!"

 **At that moment, Sam looked up and slammed the brakes, the phone dropping from his hand. Constance appeared on the road in front of him and the Impala drove right through her just as the car came to an abrupt halt.**

After the initial reaction of terror upon seeing Constance's abrupt and quite frankly, spooky appearance, Nico loudly said, "OH, so NOW she's incorporeal? This doesn't make _any_ sense." _He was the Ghost King for Hades' sake!_

"Hades, Persephone, are you _certain_ this isn't Melinoe's doing?" Zeus asked in a hard tone.

At the accusation, Persephone glared at her father, Hades, however, was far too used to Zeus blaming him for everything and drawled in his oily voice, "Melinoe isn't pleased with the restrictions I placed her under regarding haunting the mortals, but she would never disobey me."

Only Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon, Ares, Hecate and Ariadne noticed, with trepidation, the looks exchanged between the children, hinting that perhaps Hades had placed too much faith on his moody daughter's allegiance.

" **Sam! Sam?!" Dean and Liv's voices could be heard from the phone Sam had dropped.**

 **Inside the Impala, Sam was breathing hard as Constance appeared in the backseat. "Take me home," she said.**

" **No," he firmly denied her.**

"Good boy!" Ariadne sounded terribly distraught, prompting a groan out of Dionysus, though his eyes had a fond glint, which belied his initial reaction to his wife's kindness.

"As long as Sam isn't affected by Constance, he'll be okay," Thalia said, though she didn't sound so sure of herself.

Jason looked at his sister in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like Sam and Leo said," Thalia prefaced, adopting a scholarly tone, "She targets unfaithful men, right? The previous victim, what was his name-"

"Troy," Apollo put in. Thalia nodded at him in gratitude, "Right, Troy. He was with that Amy chick. But he wasn't opposed to spending the night-" and here, the lieutenant of Artemis sneered in disgust, an action that was mimicked by Artemis herself, "-with Constance, marking him as unfaithful, so she killed him. Sam has a girlfriend, so if he rejects her advances she'll let him live."

Nico was only too quick to add in his input, " _Probably_ , Thals. Something tells me she won't be playing fair."

The gods seemed at awe as the children conversed amongst themselves, noting that despite their parentage, they all got along swimmingly, especially the children of the Big Three, and the children of Poseidon and Athena, all of which were a miracle in itself. Hestia glanced at the children with a wistful smile; perhaps they would be her family's saving grace, perhaps their inclusion and their interactions would change her family for the better… perhaps this was a part of the Fates' plan.

 **Constance glared at Sam and the doors locked themselves. Sam struggled to open them but the gas pedal pressed down and the car started driving itself. Sam attempted to steer the car, but it refused to acknowledge him. Constance's form flickered in the backseat and the shot changed, showing the Impala as it pulled up in front of the house Troy previously stopped at. The engine shut off as did the lights.**

" **Don't do this," Sam pleaded. Constance flickered, and when she spoke, her voice was sad, "I can never go home."**

" **You're scared to go home," Sam affirmed. He looked back but she wasn't there. Glancing around he saw he reappear in the passenger seat and she promptly climbed his lap.**

"She's forcing herself on him!" Artemis was outraged, not only at the dead woman's actions, but the fact that she was defending a _man_.

Jason and Percy grumbled at the same time, "That's cheating."

"The dead don't exactly play fair," Nico commented.

 **Sam struggled to push her away.**

"She's corporeal again," Piper pointed out.

" **Hold me. I'm so cold," Constance whined. Sam shook his head, determinedly keeping his hands off her, "You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful. I've never been!"**

"Now that's a remarkable man!" Hera glowered at Zeus, who shifted uncomfortably in his throne and avoided his wife's glare.

Poseidon seemed to be avoiding his wife's accusing stare as well.

" **You will be," Constance sounded sure of herself. "Just hold me."**

 **Without warning, Constance forced a kiss on Sam as he continued to struggle, reaching out for the car keys. She pulled back and vanished, but not before her face flashed, looking horribly grotesque. Sam scoped his surroundings before he yelped in pain and yanked his hoodie open. There were five burn holes through the fabric that matched the shape of Constance's fingers. She flickered before him again, a hand reaching out for his chest, but at that moment, a gunshot went off, startling the ghost.**

 **Dean and Liv were fast approaching and she glared at them before once again, vanishing from their midst.**

"Oh thank gods," Hazel breathed out.

 **Dean and Liv took it in turn to fire their respective guns in an attempt to scare Constance away and Sam managed to sit up and start the car. "I'm taking you home," he growled, driving forward and smashing through the side of the house.**

" **Sam! Sam! You okay?" Dean yelled as he and Liv rushed toward the wreckage to join Sam's side, concern evident on their faces.**

"I don't understand. Why did he do that?" Persephone inquired.

 **They helped Sam out of the car as Constance reappeared; she picked up the large picture frame of her and two children. Once Sam managed to get out of the car and Dean slammed the car door Constance refocused her attention to them and she hurled the picture frame aside.**

 **A bureau advanced on them and pinned Dean, Sam and Liv against the car.**

" **I am so sick of this bitch!" Liv snarled through gritted teeth.**

Despite the action taking place, Ares didn't feel so hot and Aphrodite was beginning to feel concern for her lover and his unpredictable mood swings.

 **The lights began to flicker, and Constance suddenly looked scared. Water started leaking down the staircase and she hesitantly approached. At the top of the stairs, the young boy and girl, the same children from the photograph, stood, holding hands and in unison, chanted, "You've come home to us, Mommy."**

There were many sharp intakes of breath reverberating against the walls, and most of the female in the room had a hand over their mouth, eyes widening on the screen.

 **Constance looked at them, distraught. Suddenly, the children appeared behind her and they tightly embraced her. Her image began to flicker as a keening scream erupted from her mouth. In a surge of energy, still screaming, Constance and the two children melted into a puddle in the floor.**

"Even by our standards, that is extremely odd," Hades murmured.

Persephone shook her head, "This doesn't make any sense, Hades." The Lord and Lady of the Underworld weren't the only ones sporting a worried expression at the phenomena. In fact, Poseidon seemed confused at the power displayed over water.

 **Dean and Sam shoved the bureau that had been pinning them and Liv raced toward the spot the three ghosts had been standing on not a moment ago. "So," she uncomfortably cleared her throat, "This is where she drowned her kids."**

" **That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them," Sam explained, voice tight. Dean clapped him on the chest, "You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy."**

 **Sam grinned, brushing away his pain, "Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you two. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freaks?"**

" **Hey. Saved your ass," Dean pouted. Liv nodded, adding another smack to Sam's chest, "Your welcome Sammy-boy."**

 **At that moment, the radio turned on and began playing.**

The Stolls bumped their heads with the music's rhythm. "Highway to Hell, love that song!" they crowed.

 **Dean approached the Impala and twisted around to face Sam, "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you." Sam simply laughed as Liv murmured, "He's not kidding."**

Apollo and Ares nodded in wholehearted agreement; when it came to their respective chariots, they were _fiercely_ protective over it.

 **The camera showed the Impala tearing down the road, the right headlight not working. Liv sat in the backseat, leaning forward in the middle, a flashlight in hand that was pointed at the map on Sam's lap. Sam had the journal opened to the page that displayed "DEAN 35-111", and was thumbing through the map with a ruler.**

"He's trying to solve the coordinates' location," Hermes commented for the benefit of the children, as some of them looked utterly clueless.

" **Okay, here's where Dad went," Sam finally spoke up, "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."**

 **Dean nodded and kept his eyes on the road, "Sounds charming. How far?"**

" **About six hundred miles," he responded. Liv huffed, "Great. Road trip. I'm down."**

 **That was when Sam reminded them of his interview, prompting sad expressions to take over Dean and Liv's faces. "The interview's in like, ten hours. I gotta be there."**

" **Well, it was nice while it lasted," Liv sadly mumbled, leaning back in her seat and grabbing the beanie from beside her, clapping it onto her head.**

Aphrodite hummed, pondering her fashion sense, "You know, I do believe those beanie hats are making a comeback in the fashion world. I wonder…" she trailed off, her piercing eyes scrutinizing the girls, especially her daughter and the Oracle. The girls fidgeted and made a point to avoid her sharp gaze; they did not want an Aphrodite makeover, _thank you very much_.

 **The scenery changed; Sam stood in front of his apartment building and after saying his goodbyes to Dean and Liv, the latter of whom climbed into the passenger seat and stubbornly ignored him, he walked in.**

 **When Sam opened the door to his apartment, the interior was dark and quiet. "Jess?" he called out, closing the door behind him. "You home?"**

 **The shot homed in on the table in the kitchen; there was a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table, with a note that read: "Missed you! Love you!" and next to it was a** _ **National Geographic**_ **. Sam picked up a cookie-**

A loud grumbling echoed in the room; the gods gaped at the children in a combination of shock and amusement. Percy, Thalia, Jason, Nico, the Stolls, Frank and Leo blushed sheepishly while they rubbed their respective stomachs.

Demeter jumped in shock upon noticing the time, "Oh, it's afternoon already?" Their meeting had taken place 11 AM, but with the arrival of the other gods, the Fates, and the children from the future, they lost track of time.

Hestia smiled benignly at them, "How about one more hour, and then we'll convene for lunch, hmm?" The demigods threw her various smiles of gratification before turning their attention back to the large screen.

 **-and started nibbling on it.**

 **The shot abruptly alternated to show Dean and Liv in the Impala. Suddenly, Liv visibly shivered and hugged herself, a huge frown marring her features, "Dean, I-I have a bad feeling. Something isn't right."**

 **Dean tore his gaze from the road and they could see a wary expression on his face, "Is it that sixth sense feeling again?" Liv nodded, biting her lower lip.**

 **Dean sighed and glanced at his watch. The shot homed in on it: it wasn't ticking.**

"What?" a few demigods exclaimed.

"How can a watch just stop working?" Aphrodite glanced at Hephaestus. He was the mechanic amongst them after all.

Bluntly, and without feeling, Hephaestus said, "Not by natural means."

Every occupant in the room suddenly shared Liv's peculiar sentiment. Thalia and Piper however, shared a conspiratorial look: if their suspicions regarding Liv _was_ indeed correct, then it wasn't a sixth sense, but her instincts screaming at her that something bad was about to happen, a sort of, monster detector that usually saved a demigod's life.

 **The screen alternated to Sam entering his bedroom with a smile. The shower was running. He finished his cookie, sat on his bed and flopped on his back. He closed his eyes, the smile still on his face.**

 **Something dropped onto his forehead, followed by two other drops. He flinched and his eyes snapped open and a loud gasp of horror passing through his lips. Jessica was pinned to the ceiling, staring down at him, eyes contorted in pain and horror and her belly was pooled with crimson.**

" **No!" he yelled in agony.**

"No!" this time, Aphrodite was joined by every single female in the room and the males had ranging expressions of shock and horror on their faces.

Piper was as pale as a sheet, "I don't understand. This is the same M.O. as the one who killed Mary twenty-two years ago! Why would they resurface again? And why Sam, _again_?!"

Ares grimaced, not feeling the thrill he usually did when there was action and bloodshed, "Like I said before, kid. This is personal. The assailant is targeting this family for some reason."

"This is strong magic," Hecate murmured to herself. Noting the attention was on her, she elucidated in an audible voice, "Whoever the assailant is, they managed to keep Mary and Jessica pinned to the ceiling without even being in the room, and that can only be done using a powerful and advanced brand of telekinesis. This is no easy feat to achieve."

And on that ominous note, their attention flickered back to the screen.

 **Jessica burst into flames all of a sudden, the fire spreading across the ceiling. Sam stood paralyzed in his spot, unable to do anything but stare at the remains of his girlfriend in palpable anguish yelling Jessica's name on repeat.**

"I am a hundred percent certain that the killer isn't mortal," Hephaestus surprised them all as he usually preferred to remain silent and tinker with his gadgets. "This isn't mortal fire. It is supernatural." But then again, fire was his domain, under his divine authority.

 **At that moment, the door slammed open and Dean and Liv barged in.**

" **Sam! Sam!" Dean cried, grabbing his brother and dragging him away from the violent flames that were quickly spreading. Sam kept struggling, yelling words of denial and calling for Jessica.**

Tears ran down Aphrodite's ethereal face; to witness such heartbreak deeply wounded the goddess of love, and to see the couples so obviously in love, lose their respective other in such a brutal death, it was agonizing to her and even Ares' strong arms wounded around her waist couldn't help.

 **Left with no choice, he bodily shoved Sam all the way over to the front door.**

" **Jess! Jess!** _ **NO**_ **!" Sam yelled.**

 **The shot lingered on Liv's face for a moment; she stood frozen in her spot by the bedroom door, dark mahogany eyes welling with tears, a faraway expression on her face before she suddenly snapped out of whatever reverie she had fallen into and rushed out the front door.**

 **Moments later, the apartment burst into flames.**

While everyone felt confusion regarding Liv's reaction, nobody said a word, still reeling over Jessica's death. The gods were used to death and never batted an eyelash when it came to mortals' demise; they killed many in all their millennia of existence. However, there was a difference when you gained insight into their personal lives, and watched their reactions to the hardships faced. But other than grief, their curiosity stirred, wondering what monster held a grudge out for that family, and why? Why the lapse in time. Why return after twenty-two years?

 **Outside the apartment building, there was a crowd gawking at the scene, the police keeping them back as the firemen attempted to defuse the flames. Dean looked on briefly before he turned and walked toward the Impala. The trunk was open and Sam stood before it, loading a shotgun. Dean looked at the trunk and then at Sam, before he glanced into the interior of the car, where Liv sat shell-shocked in the backseat, her expression neutral.**

 **With a fierce look of determination, Sam shut the trunk and said, "We got work to do."**

 **The scene turned black.**

"What's wrong with Liv?" Hazel asked in concern.

Katie shrugged, "Anybody would be affected by that."

Athena frowned, displeased, "It appears that Sam is determined to seek vengeance."

"I don't blame him," Hades murmured, thinking about Maria di Angelo and his act of retribution against Zeus by targeting his daughter.

The large screen brightened with color at that moment, and letters written in bold appeared in the middle of the screen: **Blackwater Ridge. Lost Creek, Colorado.**

 **A/N:** **Olivia Winchester – her celebrity face is: Victoria Justice.**

 **I honestly adore Victoria Justice and can so see her as playing the part of a hardcore, kickass, cut-throat, bad-ass heroine who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty, don't you? LOL! And besides, call me crazy (it's your opinion, XD) but I totally see the Winchester resemblance in her.**

 **Anyways** **… you know what I noticed while writing this chapter? Not once, not** _ **once**_ **did they mention their last name! I mean, as the episodes progress, the Winchester name becomes a legend and all species don't shut up about it: Earth, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, heck, I bet even Oz are familiar with the Winchester name. Yet in this episode, nada, not even one mention of their last name. So because of that, the demigod has been left unclaimed, though I'm sure you all know who exactly the demigod is and perhaps the father (I was being kinda obvious about it, wasn't I? LOL).**

 **However** **, next episode, we'll get insight of Olivia's past and what happened to her mother. I already got started on writing it as I'd prefer to get it out of the way for my fans before I continue updating my other stories.**

 **A little side-note:** **Call me crazy (I said that already, didn't I?** _ **Whoops**_ **) but I seriously adore Ares. I mean, they don't do him justice. He's very misunderstood. He's the God of War, of course he'd have bouts of cruelty and bloodlust, just like Athena is an annoying know-it-all who thinks she's far superior because she's the Goddess of Wisdom and has to know** _ **everything**_ **. I mean, it's not fair that when Ares was first introduced, he was being controlled by Kronos leaving a negative impact on everyone and then Riordan went further and portrayed him as a misogynistic, sort-of abusive father (and because of that, up till now I have yet to find a nice Ares story). Also, Ares is mentioned to be handsome (unlike Hephaestus, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera, two of the most gorgeous gods) and they mentioned his kids were all ugly… what the hell? (I honestly believe the Clarisse from** _ **The Sea of Monsters**_ **film to be a dead-on representation of a child of Ares). To further my point, I do not think the Goddess of LOVE and BEAUTY would waste time on Ares if he was ugly and purely cruel, don't you think? I mean she has many children with him and they have been together for many millennia, so in my opinion, Riordan portrayed Ares unjustly and cruelly.**

 **If anyone's curious, my favorite gods that I adore and fangirl over are: Poseidon, first and foremost! Then Apollo and Hermes tie for second place, and lastly Ares. The others I can bear them but Athena for some reason pisses me off. But hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. XD**

 **That's the end of my blabbering, I'm sorry if I wasted your time, but I had to say it… maybe I'll inspire you to write decent stories about Ares… hopefully?**

 **R &R.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended**

 **A/N:** **Olivia Winchester – Victoria Justice.**

 **Chapter 2:**

 _The large screen brightened with color at that moment, and letters written in bold appeared in the middle of the screen:_ _ **Blackwater Ridge. Lost Creek, Colorado.**_

 **It was night, and two tents were set up near a ring of fire in the depths of a forest. Crickets could be heard chirping nearby. The shot showed the interior of one of the tents, where two boys, who looked to be around the age of sixteen or seventeen, were playing handheld video games.**

" **Dude, you're cheating."**

" **No, you just suck."**

Connor nodded as though in commiseration, "I know the feeling. Travis _always_ cheats when we play video games."

Travis glared at his younger brother, "I _do. Not_! _You_ just can't admit that you suck compared to me."

The demigods, Grover and Rachel rolled their eyes at the Stolls' recurring argument, though a few of them could be seen suppressing smiles.

"No. You _cheat_."

Katie groaned and smacked her forehead.

Hermes couldn't help but smile in amusement.

"No. _You suck_!"

"Both of you suck! Now SHUT. UP!" Katie shouted, smacking her boyfriend and his brother atop their heads. Demeter's eyes twinkled with pride.

 **Outside, a bloodcurdling growl could be heard.**

The lighthearted ambience the Stolls generated dimmed considerably.

Hazel squeaked and her hand sprung to grab Frank's. She then turned beet red. Mortified, she avoided the many eyes focused on her and kept her head buried in Frank's chest as though to shield her face.

Hades scowled, lips parted to berate the son of Ares's Roman counterpart, but after Persephone squeezed his hand, he snapped his mouth shut and looked away.

"Oh, look, a bear has come for a midnight snack," Dionysus commented as he absently flicked through his wine magazine.

Ariadne smacked her husband's arm just as Artemis contradicted his claim, "That is no bear, Dionysus! I have encountered aplenty during hunts, I would know." She then glared at the others in the room, as though daring them to challenge her.

Thalia nodded in complete agreement with her Lady. She too stumbled upon quite a number of bears since replacing Zoë as Lieutenant and had almost instantly distinguished the difference.

 **The camera alternated to show the interior of the second tent. Another boy, around the same age, with light brown hair and matching eyes, was recording a video message on his cellphone.**

" **Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge-" Too fast to identify, something dark could be seen flicking past the tent wall behind the boy before the shot focused on the screen of the cellphone, displaying the video recording which appeared to have caught the strange movement from behind. "-we're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."**

 **He stopped the recording and sent the message.**

"Something is definitely out there!" Rachel shrieked scooching over to be closer to the Stolls and Katie. "This is how most horror movies begin."

Clarisse was torn between disbelief and amusement, "Rachel, _our lives_ are a horror movie. Stop being a chicken."

Rachel grumbled at the daughter of Ares, "I'm _not_ chicken. I just can't stomach gory scenes. If that-that _thing_ is going to _eat_ those boys, I don't want to see the revolting details, _thank you very much_!"

Chris softly bumped shoulders with Clarisse, stopping her from volleying another cutting remark. Rolling her eyes, Clarisse acceded and settled her head on the crook between his neck and shoulder, eyes focused once again on the transparent screen. Rachel however, sent Chris a gratified smile and scooched between him and Connor.

Once the interaction between the daughter of Ares and the Oracle of Delphi reached fruition, the gods scrutinized the children, and while the satyr appeared spooked, most of the demigods seemed to be concerned but unafraid. Noting his father's gaze on him, Percy shrugged and sort of explained for him and his friends, "We got used to monsters threatening to eat us." Most of the gods winced, the explanation not really offering them much comfort.

"Laistrygonians come to mind," Annabeth murmured for only Percy to hear.

 **Alternating to the other tent, one of the boys closed his game system and tossed it aside, then got up and began unzipping the tent.**

"No! _Don't_ go out there!" Katie cried out, forgetting for a moment that the boy can't hear her.

" **Hey, where ya goin'? My moment of victory," the other boy grumbled, staring between the tossed game and his friend as though they had both insulted him.**

 **His friend simply offered, "Nature calls," before going outside and zipping the tent back up behind him.**

"Of all the times he had to relieve himself, he chose _now_!?" Nico mumbled, shaking his head.

"It's not like he has control over his bladder," Leo pointed out. "Besides, how's he supposed to know he's one of the chosen candidates for a midnight snack?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Are you two _seriously_ discussing this?"

Nico and Leo looked at each other for a moment, shrugged, and in unison, said, "Yeah?" their reply phrased as a question.

 **The camera focused on the back of the boy for a moment as he relieved himself.**

Thalia, Annabeth, Piper, Rachel, Katie, Clarisse and Hazel wrinkled their nose in disgust.

Artemis scowled, "Disgraceful! Why are we seeing this?!"

"Give the guy a break. He's going about doing his private business. How's he supposed to know he'd be aired live on Olympus," Apollo chuckled, amused at the various emotions displayed on the girls and the goddess's faces.

 **A stick snapped, the sound echoing loudly in the night air. The boy abruptly looked toward the direction the sound had come from and could clearly see the trees rustling. Shaking his head, his attention returned downward, but as another growl rumbled from nearby, he sharply looked up again.**

"That's not ominous at all," Thalia remarked sarcastically.

 **The camera started to alternate between the interior of both tents. The boy who had recorded a video was reading a book when all of a sudden, a scream tore through the night and he looked up from his book.**

 **In the other tent, the boy called out, "Brad?"**

 **Back to the second tent, the boy scrambled to get up, "Gary, what's goin' on?"**

 **Gary frantically opened the tent and stuck his head out to look around. There was nothing. A brief pause and a growl could be heard from above. Gary looked up and screamed as something pulled him out of the tent.**

"What the-, what _was that_? Did you guys manage to see what that thing was?" Rachel hysterically questioned; she was really getting into the movie, but it wasn't a hard feat… after all, according to the Fates, everything they were witnessing and about to witness, was happening out of Olympus. This wasn't some fiction-thriller movie, it was reality.

Thalia shook her head abruptly, face pale and eyes wide. "It was too fast. Lady Artemis?" she inquired.

All eyes were on the Goddess of the Hunt, who looked frustrated over the fact that she was as ignorant as the others, "I am afraid I am rendered obsolete at this moment."

"My first guess would've been Scylla," Percy said, a thoughtful frown marring his handsome face. "But it doesn't add up. Scylla doesn't growl like that, and she wouldn't leave her post." Annabeth and Clarisse nodded in agreement, both of them sporting identical grimaces at the mere thought of that grotesque sea-monster.

Poseidon gripped his Trident as though it were a lifeline, "Why do you speak of Scylla with such familiarity, Percy?"

Percy froze and slowly lifted his gaze to meet the eyes he inherited. "Umm… story for another time?" he laughed nervously.

Athena scowled, her dislike at being kept in the dark rearing its ugly head, "I am beginning to lose count of the amount of times you have repeated that statement, Jackson."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "She _actually_ keeps score," he whispered in a fake-conspiratorial voice. The demigods, Poseidon, Hermes, Aphrodite and Ares chuckled, though Annabeth and Athena scowled, glaring at every laughing person until they stopped.

Thankfully, Apollo's comment gave Percy the opportunity to avoid Athena's question and Poseidon's concerns for the meantime.

 **The boy quickly turned out his lantern. Shadows could be seen moving at an alarming speed from outside his tent. The boy looked around, his expression one of utmost terror, following the shadows and the spine-chilling growls.**

 **Then, silent fell. It was almost too silent.**

"This is it," Rachel hissed, grabbing Connor's hand in a bruising grip. "This is the moment the monster or psycho killer strikes in horror movies."

Connor winced as he started to lose all sensation in his hand.

 **Something sharp slashed open his tent and the boy screamed.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"So this monster has claws," Ariadne mused out loud.

Ares snorted, though not rudely, "That narrows it down."

Artemis abruptly stood up from her throne, her trusty bow and a quiver of arrows appearing in her hand and slung over her shoulder, respectively. "I must make journey posthaste, father. I shall not allow innocents to fall victim to this monster!"

There was a cacophony of discord in the throne room after her declaration and Apollo looked ready to stop his sister, when Zeus stood up and in a commanding tone, said, "Artemis, sit down."

"Father! This is _my_ duty-"

"Yes. And the Fates tasked us with witnessing these events for some confounding reason I am unsure of yet," Zeus interjected. "I understand this falls in your jurisdiction, daughter. However, you are unaware of the monster's identity, or even when this event shall occur. It obviously transpires some time after tomorrow, meaning the phenomena has yet to take place."

"Also," when Hestia spoke, there was a small crack in Artemis's stubborn expression, "The Fates shall not allow you to depart, of this you _have_ suspected. We are to remain in Olympus until we have seen all that they desire us to see."

Disgruntled, though slightly pacified, Artemis banished her weapons and sat back down on her throne. The demigods, especially Thalia, understood where the goddess was coming from, for they were heroes, and it wasn't in a hero's nature to turn a blind eye to innocents being victimized by monsters.

But wait – "Aren't monsters _not_ supposed to harm mortals?" Percy asked confusion palpable on his visage.

Silence descended upon the throne room once again as they realized Percy made a decent point and even Athena couldn't refute the son of her rival. Artemis cocked her head, "The boy is correct. I do not understand…"

Apollo, sensing his sister was truly distraught, patted her hand, displaying a rarely serious side of him, "I'm sure it'll all be explained in due time, sister." Thalia gawked at him in shock, far too used to the sun god's immaturity and incessant desire to irritate his sister. Artemis however, smiled softly in return at her brother's attempt to soothe her worries.

 **It was daytime, and as the words 'Palo Alto, California' appeared at the bottom of the screen, the camera focused on Sam, dressed in a black suit and tie, and a bouquet of various flowers in hand as he walked through a deserted cemetery.**

Aphrodite scowled as her acute vision detected the flowers amassed in the bouquet, "Why aren't there any roses?"

Knowing how touchy and easily offended the goddess of love could get, Persephone, the goddess of flowers, quickly pointed out, "Daffodils are also your sacred flowers, Aphrodite. Look, they are part of the bouquet; perhaps Jessica preferred them over roses."

Anger quelled, Aphrodite smiled at Persephone and allowed herself to feel grief for the broken couple that had been parted by death in a very Shakespearean tragedy.

 **Sighing, he stopped next to a gravestone that read:**

 **JESSICA LEE MOORE**

 **Beloved Daughter**

 **January 24** **th** **1984 – November 2** **nd** **2005**

While a few tears were shed at the reminder of the lively girl's horrifying death and others pondered over the assailant who apparently held a grudge on the particular family, Artemis was more interested in gathering evidence, "November second. This means the attack on those boys shall occur in approximately three days."

"Artemis," Zeus's tone held a warning. "Do not forget the Fates. If those mortals are fated to die, then die they shall and the Fates will not allow any interference."

Artemis frowned, sensing the logic in her father's statement, though unhappy about it.

" **I, uh…" a miserable laugh erupted from Sam's lips as he laid down the bouquet by Jessica's grave. "You always said roses were, were lame-"**

"EXCUSE ME!" Aphrodite shrieked, riled up. "My sacred flower is NOT lame! How-"

"Everyone is allowed to have an opinion," Athena sneered. "I _too_ despise roses."

The Goddess of Love let out another deafening shriek that had everyone in the vicinity wince. "How dare you!"

Ares glared daggers at Athena, knowing that her comment was meant to aggravate his sensitive lover and that she had done it on purpose. "Aphrodite, look at me, _calm down_ ," the demigods were taken aback by Ares' soft tone, not having expected such an emotion from the violent and brutal god who always sneered and growled in their presence. "Don't let Athena antagonize you. You're only giving her power over you. Be calm."

Aphrodite's harsh breathing abruptly halted and she smiled brightly at her lover, and after pecking his lips and stroking his scarred cheek, nodded, "You're absolutely right. I always forget about the know-it-all's bitter nature."

" _You dare_!" Athena hissed, making to rise from her throne, but one look from Zeus and she sat back down. Poseidon rolled his eyes, "Oh, do be quiet, Athena. This time, you are the one that initiated an argument."

"I'd like to see what your reaction would be if somebody insulted your precious sacred owls," Aphrodite acerbically retorted, eyes a kaleidoscope of dark colors in her anger.

"Enough," Hestia ordered, her tone steady and calm, halting the upcoming argument in its path.

Aphrodite smiled at Poseidon in gratitude, to which he returned with a kind smile of his own. Despite their brief affair in the past that resulted in their daughter, Herophile, the two gods had a platonic relationship and were very close friends with a mutual respect for one another, and one thing they had in common, was their rivalry with Athena.

Annabeth was torn between defending her mother and hiding her face in mortification; Poseidon had a point, Athena should have stayed quiet and left the hysterical goddess to Ares.

"You have anything to say, punks?" Ares growled upon noticing most of the demigods and even the satyr were gaping at him in palpable shock. They abruptly looked away, rendered speechless at seeing the soft side of the war god they never thought existed.

 **-so I brought you, uh…" he drifted off as his eyes connected with the pictures of Jessica set into the gravestone. Choking back tears, he looked away and took a step closer to her grave. "Jess… oh God…" he kneeled down. "I should have protected you. I should have told you the truth."**

 **He stared at the crucifix for a moment and blinked away his tears. Suddenly, an arm shot out of the ground and grabbed Sam by the wrist.**

Screams reverberated in the room, startled at the sudden change and the abrupt movement of the hand.

"Holy Styx!" Thalia breathed out, holding a hand over her chest, and she wasn't the only one. Annabeth, Piper and Clarisse were startled by the unexpected occurrence, Hazel yelped loudly in Frank's arms, and Katie and Rachel actually tumbled onto the floor, though the Stolls were mostly to blame as they had jumped in their seat in fright, and their elbows shoved them from the couch.

A few gods chuckled at the children's expense while the rest remained indifferent.

"It's just a dream," Percy chuckled nervously, rubbing his chest as though to calm his wildly beating heart.

Grover gaped at him, "A _dream_? You mean nightmare. A horrible, _horrible_ nightmare."

 **Sam jerked awake and scoped his surroundings. At the bottom of the screen, the date appeared: 10 November 2005.**

"So not three days," Artemis frowned. "How am I to know when the attack shall occur?!"

Hera stared at the goddess in sympathy, "Maybe you _aren't_ supposed to know."

 **Dean was driving the car and looking back, he could see Liv, fast asleep.**

" **Another nightmare?" Dean asked. Sam nodded, looking away from his brother. "You wanna drive for a while?"**

 **Sam laughed, "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that."**

"Understandable," Ares and Apollo mumbled at the same time.

Masking her shiver at the traumatizing experience, Thalia smirked at the sun god, "Actually I've driven your sun chariot before."

" _What?_ " Ares, Hermes, Artemis and even Dionysus gaped at the daughter of Zeus, though none were louder than Apollo himself, who slightly glared at the demigod, "How did that happen?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, "You gave me permission."

Apollo tilted his head, looking a mixture of sheepish and confused, "I did?"

"Warning for the future," Percy said, gazing at Apollo with solemn eyes, " _Never_ let Thalia drive!"

Thalia halfheartedly glared at her cousin, "I wasn't that bad!"

"Wasn't that bad!?" Grover and Nico echoed, the former sounding hysterical and the latter heavy with disbelief. Percy took over, "Thalia, you _torched_ New England and you _literally_ crashed into the lake at Camp Half-Blood!"

Apollo blinked at Thalia in shock, before he broke out into hysterical laughter, to which he was quickly joined by Hermes, Poseidon and the Stolls. The other gods were gaping at Thalia, dumbstruck.

Thalia huffed and folded her arms across her chest, "You're over-exaggerating, Kelp-Head."

"No. He's not," Nico and Grover, solemnly intoned.

Once Apollo had collected himself and his laughter stopped, he wiped a few tears from his face and chuckled at Percy, "Right. I'll take your warning to heart if I come across Thalia in the future."

Zeus was still staring at his daughter, speechless, when the movie picked up again.

 **Dean shrugged, "Just thought you might want to. Never mind."**

 **Sam sighed loudly, "Look, man, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."**

Travis let out a humorless snort, "Yeah right. His girlfriend was murdered eight days ago, but he's perfectly fine."

"Why would Dean ask such a _ridiculous_ question," Connor added, rolling his eyes.

"Guys, not now," Katie sighed.

 **Dean made a sound of disbelief, but dropped the subject.**

"See, he agrees with us!" the Stolls intoned, prompting a respective slap to the back of their heads courtesy of Rachel and Katie.

 **At that moment, distressed whimpering could be heard and the brothers abruptly turned to see Liv's face thick with perspiration and her face contorted in misery, a tear escaping her right eye.**

" **Liv! Liv, come on, wake up. It's just a dream," Dean called from the driver's seat, one hand on the wheel and another blindly reaching out for her hand. Sam was worried, but Dean looked as though it were a regular occurrence.**

"The poor dear," Ariadne gasped.

The demigods sympathized with her, for they too were inflicted, more times than they could count,with horrible nightmares, haunted by the many casualties from the Titan War _and_ the Giant War.

"I wonder what she's dreaming about," Rachel mused out loud.

 **Suddenly, the screen morphed into a blur of colors, Dean and Sam's voices calling out Liv's name a distant echo, until the camera refocused on the exterior of an apartment building in the silent of the night. At the bottom of the screen, the words 'Brooklyn, New York, 16 years ago' appeared.**

The room was engulfed with a foreboding sensation, as they were eerily reminded of the calm before the storm that took place before Mary's horrifying death.

 **Still showing the exterior of the apartment building, the camera slowly rose, until it stopped on the fourth window, and homed in on the interior. In the interior of the apartment, the shot focused on an empty hallway, moving forward until it took a sharp turn, showing the master bedroom that was barren of all furniture, but for a bed. The back of a woman could be seen kneeling by the bed, straight golden-brown hair tied into a messy bun, her elbows resting on the mattress, fingers interlaced together and head bowed in prayer.**

"… **ever this night be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen." No sooner had the woman concluded her prayer did a sob escape her.**

Aphrodite, who had yet to depart from her position between Ares's arm and chest, felt her lover stiffen, and his heart thrum loudly in her ear as a sharp intake of breath passed through his lips. "Ares?" she lifted her head to meet his gaze, only to find his expression taut and both his fists clenched. "Ares, what is it?" He offered no response.

 **Standing up and turning around, the woman opened her eyes and reached for the door handle with a violently trembling hand.**

"Oh my gods! She looks like, like…" Piper trailed off, mouth parted in shock.

"I believe this is Olivia's mother," Amphitrite broadcasted the conclusion everyone had reached to.

She looked like an older version of Olivia with her golden-brown hair, dark oak-brown eyes, slim athletic figure, petite straight-sloped nose and olive complexion. But that was where the similarities ended. Unlike Olivia, this woman had an oval-shaped face, round cheeks and thin lips, her features softer and less exotic. Also, she was slightly taller and less toned, and her eyes didn't have flecks of gold when hit with the right lighting. However, the similarities outweighed the differences.

"I can see where Olivia got her stunning looks from," Apollo remarked in awe.

What surprised everyone, was that Aphrodite had yet to comment on the woman, having had expected her to spout out her usual claims whenever it came to gorgeous mortals, of her having had blessed them. Turning their focus to the love goddess, they found her attempting to cajole Ares into elaborating the reason behind his sudden stiffness.

"Victoria," the war god bluntly stated in a brisk tone.

Aphrodite cocked her head, "What? Ares, you're not-"

"Her name, that woman, that's Victoria Winchester," Ares tersely elaborated.

The demigods smartly kept their mouths shut, having no desire to intervene in the tense situation between the gods.

Poseidon straightened his posture and scrutinized his nephew in concern, and when the war god ignored Athena's demand of how he knew, realization dawned on him, "She's a past lover, isn't she?" It was a rhetoric question, for Ares's expression gave it away the moment he revealed the woman's christened name.

 **Entering the hallway, Victoria pattered toward the room closest to the master bedroom and slowly opened the door. It was a nursery. The walls were splashed with soft tones of red and pink and in the corner sat a bassinet with gorgeous silver lining. She approached it and upon looking down, the camera focused on the gorgeous baby girl, who looked to be around four-months-old, dark eyes glimmering and adorable giggles escaping her tiny lips at the sight of her mother.**

"Awwhh! She's so _cute_!" Rachel and Katie cooed, staring at the baby with adoring and slightly wistful eyes.

Aphrodite smiled serenely, "Oh, she's so _tiny_! I just want to eat her up!"

Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Hestia grimaced at Aphrodite's poor choice of words, remembering all too well that for some, those words weren't merely a figure of speech.

 **Seeing a rocking chair on the other side of the room, Victoria moved it until it sat beside the bassinet. The baby gurgled and giggled softly once Victoria reached out for her and gently cradled her in her arms. She then sat on the rocking chair and smiled down at her baby.**

" **I'm so sorry, my sweet. If only there was another way, I'd take it in a heat beat. Sadly, I cannot cheat my fate. It's the only thing I could think of, and I hope that one day you'll understand that I did this** _ **for you**_ **," a sob broke out, interrupting her words, but the baby girl was oblivious and kept gurgling. "John, my big brother, your uncle-" she softly stroked the baby's cheek, "-was there when I delivered you. He'll take good care of you, and you'll grow up loved by him and your cousins, I promise. Oh, if only your father could see you. I'm sure he'd fall in love with you the second he lays eyes on you. If he could, he would be here, but there are laws set in stone, certain laws that forbid him from making contact with you. I hope you don't blame him too harshly once you're old enough to understand. But I'll tell you a little secret, my sweet," her next words were coated with thick tears as tears fell down her cheeks at an uncontrollable pace, "I love you** _ **so**_ **much. More than words can describe. Your mommy loves you Olivia Winchester."**

 **With one last kiss on baby Olivia's forehead, Victoria deposited her back into her bassinet, uncoiled a necklace from her neck, its pendant a large silver cross, and placed it around Olivia's tiny neck.**

 **She then flicked off the lights in the nursery and the screen turned black.**

"I-I don't understand. Is she, is she _abandoning_ Liv?" a distraught Hazel whispered. The pain in Victoria's voice and her parting words managed to touch everyone in the room and even reduce most of the females into tears.

Ariadne didn't want to believe it and kept shaking her head in denial, her melancholy prompting Dionysus to forsake his wine magazine and wound his arms around his wife. Athena scowled, believing Victoria to have abandoned her infant.

"Why didn't you say anything about Olivia being your child, Ares?" Zeus demanded sternly.

Ares' knuckles were as white as bleach and his jaw was taut, but despite that, he looked unaffected and apathetic, "I wasn't sure. There are many children out there named Olivia, and without a last name, I couldn't be sure. Besides, I checked on her from a distance about five years ago, and she bore no resemblance."

"I was certain Sam was the demigod," Frank murmured, though everyone heard.

Hermes looked at the son of Mars in confusion, the attention – much to Ares' relief – fixated on him, "I thought we established the boy was mortal as he isn't ailed with dyslexia."

Frank shook his head, "There are exceptions. It's rare, but I'm a demigod and I haven't been diagnosed with either ADHD or dyslexia. I'm sure I'm not the only demigod out there that beat the odds." Annabeth grumbled good-naturedly in her spot, having recalled her envy and incredulity when Frank first informed her of the oddity.

"Huh, that's something," Apollo hummed, scrutinizing Frank as though he were a bug under a microscope.

Thalia cleared her throat, looking entirely too smug to be legal, "On that note, Piper and I had our suspicions on whether or not Liv was the demigod. When they were at that motel room, we recognized the pained look on her face when she scanned those articles pinned on the wall, it's the same expression we all get when the words skateboard before our eyes."

Now, Annabeth was scandalized and ashamed with herself for missing something so obvious and she stuck her tongue out at her friends.

"The girl is sixteen, Ares. You said you visited her before, so why haven't you told Chiron? He would have sent a satyr to bring her to camp," Hera demanded; she, like Aphrodite, sensed something truly amiss with her violent son and it was obvious that he was hiding something.

Ares looked away and ignored his mother.

"Are-"

"I _don't_ want to talk about it!" Ares snarled, the viciousness of his tone prompting everyone, _even Zeus_ , to leave the subject alone… for the meantime.

 **The lights in the hallway flickered; the shot then alternated to the exterior of the apartment building, where a familiar black Impala could be seen parking in an empty space.**

 **John, looking older and showing signs of stress and depression that took a toll on him after Mary's death, punched the button '4' and rode the elevator. The moment the lights in the elevator flickered ominously, John whipped out a gun, looking anxious. The moment the elevator stopped at the correct floor, an agonizing scream rang in his ears and he quickly darted down the hallway and kicked the front door open, "Victoria!** _ **Vic**_ **!"**

The demigods all sat on the edge of their seats with their eyes wide, the scenario uncannily familiar to the last two deaths that occurred in that family. The gods alternated their gaze from the screen to a tensed Ares and back again.

 **Baby Olivia's hysterical wails echoed in the apartment. John stormed into the nursery in the nick of time, for the hooded back of a figure could be seen approaching the crib. He raised his hand and took aim, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, in a dark and menacing voice the assailant swore and vanished.**

"Definitely not mortal," Hecate clarified, though that much was obvious as no mortal had the ability to teleport.

" **Damn it!" John hissed, rushing over to Olivia and rocking her protectively in his arms, "It's okay princess. I got you, I got you. Where's your mommy-"**

 **On cue, crimson drops rained down from the ceiling and in trepidation, John looked up, horror coloring his features at the sight of Victoria Winchester pinned to the ceiling, her face frozen in anguish and blood pooling in her belly. And like Mary and Jessica, Victoria was buried in the sea of flames, John and baby Olivia making it past the front door just as the apartment exploded.**

"Di immortales!" Aphrodite gasped. Her face was stained with dry and fresh tears, unable to tear her gaze from her lover, his face appearing as though it had been carved from stone.

"Ares-"

Again, Ares cut in, not wanting to linger around the subject, and trying to make himself sound indifferent, he said, "I said it before and I'll say it again. It's personal. The Winchesters got one ticked off son of a bitch after their blood."

"You sound so… detached. Don't you care? This woman must have meant something to you, otherwise you wouldn't have stuck around long enough to impregnate her," Athena snapped sharply.

Ares' brows rose and he sneered at her as though she were a particularly irksome fly, "I am the God of War. I don't form attachments with _mortals_. She was simply an affair, a pretty little thing to pass the time and I'll tell you something else, _Athena_ , the child was a mistake on my part. I never meant to sire a child with her!"

Percy looked like all was right with the world again, "Now there's the Ares I remember."

Clarisse on the other hand, ripped her gaze from her father and buried her face in Chris' chest as she tried to blink away her tears. She didn't know her father could be _that_ cruel, and she couldn't help but wonder if Ares loved her mother, or used her as a sex object, like he did Victoria.

"Ares, that's not true and you know it. Just because they're mortals, it doesn't mean we don't care. I loved or at least cared for every woman that bore me a child," Hermes revealed; his tone was soft but his eyes were hard.

The Stolls and Chris beamed, inwardly relieved at their father's confession.

Ares glowered at him, "I'm not you. Now that we've done digging through my head in the hopes of finding sentimentalities that _do not exist_ , let's get back to this accursed film!"

"The Fates brought us here to witness the hardships your daughter have suffered through and will be suffering through," Hecate warned the war god before returning her attention to the screen, halting him from forming any rebuttals.

Ares clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he impatiently waited for the film to resume.

Aphrodite and Apollo however, were not easily fooled.

Aphrodite sensed his bonds, and she was more than a hundred percent certain that Ares truly loved Victoria Winchester, and she highly suspected that, till this day, the God of War's love for her never waned; Ares always had a knack for suppressing his true emotions behind a cruel and arrogant mask, which was why all the gods, including Zeus and Hera, believed him to be a sadistic and heartless god. That way, it would be easier for Ares to hide his true feelings from them.

Apollo, as the God of Truth, sensed _both_ , truth and lie in Ares' confession. Ares cared about Victoria's fate, more than he wished to, and he was truly shocked by the manner of her death, deeply unsettling him. He loved that mortal woman. He never stopped loving her. Victoria Winchester was not merely an object to pass the time, he fell in love with her – not a sentiment one usually related with the sadistic and bloodthirsty God of War his own mother and father believed him to be. But that is where the lies end. When Ares mentioned Olivia's birth to be a mistake on his part, he sincerely meant that, and Apollo had a nasty hunch regarding the reason.

 **Flames covered the entire screen and Victoria's dying screams echoed loudly as Dean and Sam's voice could be clearly made out.**

" **Liv? Come on, Liv."**

" **Olivia, wake up-"**

 **With a loud gasp, Liv's eyes abruptly opened and in the blink of an eye, a dagger appeared in her hand aimed toward the closest person to her – Sam. Dean's hand shot out, gripping her wrist and stopping her before she could slash Sam. "Hey, hey, Liv. You're okay, you're in the car with us," Dean said, calmly.**

" **Dean? Sam?" Liv groaned and sheepishly holstered her dagger back in its holder around her ankle. "Sorry. Force of habit."**

Percy nodded as though in agreement, "I never go to sleep without Riptide on me or near me."

Frank threw him a half-hearted glare, "Yeah _I know_." Percy rubbed the back of his neck and offered the son of Mars a sheepish smile. "Never again am I going to volunteer to wake you up."

Grover shrugged, "Next time, why not just throw water at him. That's what I do at Camp Half-Blood."

Travis nodded, a crooked smile on his face, "Most demigods are afflicted by nightmares, especially demigod dreams and we're too paranoid to sleep unarmed."

"Yeah, makes me feel vulnerable if I sleep without a dagger on me," Connor shivered at the mere notion.

Hazel laughed, returning to the initial topic at hand, "Well, suffice to say, Frank never made that mistake again."

While the demigods picked on each other and joked around about their respective near misses of being gutted like a fish, the gods were also commenting on Olivia's obviously battle-hardened reaction.

"It makes plenty sense if you think about it, didn't they mention John was a former marine?" Poseidon matter-of-factly commented. "Only to retire and have his wife and sister get murdered by, who we assume to be, the same assailant."

Hermes grimaced, eyes subtly seeking Ares's reaction, but the war god appeared to be seemingly uninterested. "The term paranoia would reach to a whole different level. From what we've seen, I think it's pretty obvious he trained them at a young age."

"Yes. And he has adopted an unhealthy thirst for vengeance that he seems to have passed on to Dean and Olivia," Hera stated, torn between disapproval and comprehension.

"With Jessica's murder, Sam is on the same wavelength as them in terms of vengeance," Athena declared. She did not approve of the Winchesters' vendetta; Athena believed in using your brain and thinking up strategies, not heading into battle using anger as a motivating factor. Too many casualties were lost that way, which was the reason why she, most times, defeated Ares – the war god was too impetuous.

" **Liv, you wanna talk about it?" Sam asked, concerned.**

" **Uh, no. I'd rather not. But thanks, Sammy," Liv spoke with a tone of finality, and when Sam looked like he was about to argue, she hastily changed the subject, "All right, where are we?"**

 **Shaking his head at Sam to drop the subject, Dean promptly replied, "We are just outside of Grand Junction."**

 **Sighing in defeat, Sam unfolded a map of Colorado that had a large red X labeled 35-111.**

"They solved the coordinates. I wouldn't be able to do that with my ADHD and dyslexia," Chris groaned, rubbing his eyes at the mere thought of inflicting such torture on his poor eyes.

Percy groaned, "Same here."

" **Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon," Sam suddenly blurted out.**

"I don't think eight days is ' _so soon_ '," Clarisse mumbled, her words muffled as she had yet to peel her face from Chris' chest, still aggrieved by Ares' callous words.

 **Liv viciously rolled her eyes but kept silent. Dean shot Sam a look of disbelief, "Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica-"**

" **We gotta find Dad first," Sam interrupted, completing Dean's sentence.**

 **Dean nodded, "Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after fifteen years, it's no coincidence."**

Triton frowned, "I don't understand. The 'thing' appeared sixteen years ago, why did the mortal say fifteen?"

Athena promptly replied in a pompous tone that grated on nearly everyone's nerves. "It must be estimation. Olivia is currently sixteen, and the assailant attacked her home when she was a few months old."

"Personally, both attacks on Mary and Victoria have many similarities. For some perplexing reason, both Sam and Olivia were infants, and since Sam was six-months-old, I have reason to believe Olivia was around the same age when the attack occurred."

"But…She looked so tiny. She couldn't have been more than three or four months!" Aphrodite exclaimed.

"That's because she's a runt," Ares grunted.

Many eyes landed on the war god in horror.

" _Ares_!" Hera, Hestia, Artemis and Aphrodite rebuked him. But he continued to look at them with unapologetic eyes, "It's the truth. She's a runt. Not fit to be a child of mine. You see any of my kids scrawny and soft? _No_. Eventually, I got curious, checked up on her when she was around ten or eleven, and the little runt was a tiny little thing, all skin and bones, weepy too, and scared of her own shadow. So I left her be. No child of mine is a weakling!"

Apollo was only too quick to point out, "I don't know how her growth spurt was growing up, but you have to admit, Olivia obviously grew out of it. We all believed she was in her twenties."

"She's still short and scrawny!" Ares retorted heatedly.

"She most certainly _is not_ ," Ariadne had had enough. "Olivia is lean and athletic, her arms are toned, and she is one gorgeous girl. You saw how easily she tackled Sam when she broke into his apartment with Dean. Strength isn't relatable to bulging muscles, Ares."

Ares was unaffected.

The gods had a universal air of resignation about them; the demigods on the other hand, were at a loss for words. In Ares's defense, they could understand where he was coming from, especially when they recalled the Ares Cabin at camp, or just took a quick gander at Clarisse. They were all broad and lean and tall and muscular, with a vicious sneer inherited from their father, gender didn't matter – they all shared similar traits. If they were black, then Olivia was of the brightest white.

Aphrodite grew incensed, "Oh? And what about Harmonia? Our daughter has always been the belle of the ball but when angered has a vicious streak just like you!"

Ares waved a hand in a dismissive manner, "She's an exception, Aphrodite! She's born to a god and goddess."

"Didn't you have a daughter in the forties… what was her name?" Zeus started snapping his fingers as he tried to recall the name.

Poseidon put in, "Darla."

"Yes, _Darla_ ," Zeus nodded at Poseidon. "She was a tiny little thing, practically raised at camp and was an excellent swordswoman."

Dionysus looked at the ceiling, muttering lowly about foolish idiots. Apollo and Hermes winced as they suddenly recalled Darla's fate and a second later, they were joined by Poseidon, who had slapped a hand to his forehead.

Ares' flaming orbs steadily gazed into his father's electric blue eyes. "She died two hours into her first quest," he revealed in a monotone. Percy, Annabeth and Grover winced; Clarisse paled, her expression one of complete horror. Hera smacked Zeus on the shoulder as though it were his fault for bringing up the tactless topic – which, it _was_ his fault – and the King of Gods himself actually looked away in guilt. "Darla was the first and _last_ of my daughters to take on a quest as you well know," he sneered, expression bored. "Since then I gave explicit orders to Chiron to only allow my _sons_ to accept quests."

Clarisse scowled, furious at her father; but after a moment, she banished the sentiment. She showed her father how wrong he was in terms of his misogynistic beliefs: with the help of her – _grudgingly admitted_ – friends, she saved the camp by returning with the Golden Fleece, and _she_ , Clarisse La Rue, _Daughter_ of Ares, gained the title 'Drakon Slayer'! Not her brothers, _her_!

"But," Rachel cocked her head in confusion, her gaze boring into Clarisse as though she were a mystery she _had_ to solve, "I heard from quite a few campers that you had an audience with the Oracle. Weren't you the leader of a quest a few years back?"

Clarisse nodded, grimacing at the horrible reminder of not only Charybdis, Scylla and the idea of being wed to Polyphemus, but of how Tantalus blatantly favored her in front of all the other campers. "Yeah, I did. Chiron was on a… temporary leave of absence at the time. That's probably why."

While the gods were concerned and quite curious regarding Chiron's odd absence, Ares was busy staring at his daughter, his expression and tone scarily neutral, "You were given a quest by the old mummy?!"

Clarisse met his gaze unflinchingly, "I did."

Gazing at her for a few seconds longer, he harrumphed and looked away, his expression not betraying anything.

 **From the backseat, Liv confidently stated, "Uncle John will have answers. He** _ **always**_ **does."**

 **After a short pause, Sam said, "It's weird, though. These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge."**

"That's where those three boys were attacked!" Artemis gasped, straightening her posture and gazing at the screen with a solemn expression.

" **What about it?" Dean asked.**

 **Sam put down the map, "There's nothing there. It's just** _ **words**_ **. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"**

" **Uncle John always has a reason for everything he does, Sam," Liv absently reminded him as she yanked the map from him and started squinting at it.**

Hestia softly smiled, "Olivia truly looks up to John. It's heartwarming."

 **The screen then showed the Impala drive past a National Forest sign: "Welcome to LOST CREEK COLORADO National Forest"**

"The part Artemis has been anxiously waiting for," Apollo announced in a dramatic tone, earning him a hard smack and glare from his irascible twin and a chuckle from Hermes.

 **The scenery changed; the Impala was parked next to a sign: "RANGER STATION Lost Creek Trail, Lost Creek National Forest", and Sam's voice could be heard in a narrating tone, "So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote."**

 **The screen then showed Sam inside a Ranger's Station, looking at a 3D map of the national forest, his gaze more focused on the ridge labeled "BLACKWATER RIDGE". Dean was examining the decorations while Liv kept shifting from foot to foot, obviously distracted.**

The demigods had commiserating smiles etched onto their faces.

"That's her ADHD acting out," Percy sympathized.

" **It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place," Sam was saying until Dean cut him off, his attention elsewhere as he crowed in awe, "Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear."**

 **Sam and Liv looked over, the shot homing in on a framed photograph of a man standing behind a** _ **large**_ **bear. "Meaning this area is infested with a dozen or more grizzles. And they call this a nature hike?" Liv scoffed sarcastically.**

"She does make a decent point," Connor grimaced.

Rachel nodded, "I don't mind hiking, but no amount of money can make me take a hike in a place like that!"

"Especially when there's a cannibal monster loose out there," Grover nervously pointed out.

 **A forest ranger, a nametag on his shirt identifying him as Ranger Wilkinson, walked up from behind them, "You three aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" the moment he spoke, Dean, Sam and Liv whipped around, clearly startled.**

" **Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper," Sam smoothly lied.**

Rachel smiled approvingly, "At least this time they aren't stealing anybody's identity."

"Would you let it go already," Leo groaned, dramatically covering his eyes and therefore missing the death glare Rachel threw him.

 **Dean grinned and raised a fist, "Recycle, man."**

" **Bull," the Ranger shot them down. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"**

"Haley, Haley, Haley," Athena loudly mumbled, before snapping her fingers in recognition. "That's the name of the girl that mortal boy sent a video to."

Amphitrite nodded in agreement, having connected the dots before Athena, "The girl must be leading a search party for the boy."

"Bah! Waste of time if you ask me," Dionysus stated nonchalantly as he casually turned the page of his magazine. "There's probably nothing left to find, but for a few stray bones that didn't settle well in the beast's stomach."

The gods rolled their eyes, unaffected by the grumpy god's morbid humor, and the demigods, Grover, and Rachel turned an unhealthy shade of white at the graphic description.

" _Dionysus_!" Ariadne shrieked.

Zeus narrowed his gaze at his son, " _Nobody_ asked you."

Hephaestus looked up from his tools, put down his screwdriver, glanced at Dionysus and snapped his fingers. The wine magazine promptly burst into flames, reduced to nothing but ash.

" _Hephaestus_!" Dionysus grumbled. Glowering at the unbothered blacksmith, he proceeded to fold his arms together and pout. Ariadne smiled at Hephaestus – who responded in kind before returning to his tinkering – and turned her attention back toward the screen.

 **While Dean considered the Ranger's statement, Liv quickly stepped in, "You caught us, Ranger Wilkinson."**

" **Well I will tell you exactly what we told her," Wilkinson prefaced, slightly disgruntled. "Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" Dean shook his head in response as the Ranger continued, "You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine."**

"That's quite irresponsible of them," Annabeth said, aggravated by the Ranger's lack of concern. "They should at least send some scouts out in case something _did_ happen." As an afterthought, "Actually, scratch that. They should've secured the premises _before_ they allowed people to sign permits."

 **Dean chuckled, "We will. Well that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?"**

 **Wilkinson snorted, "That is putting it mildly."**

 **Liv's face morphed into one of credible concern, "Actually you know what? My friend's such a worrywart and quite stubborn too. It would help loads if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. Seeing her brother's return date would help her calm down."**

"Ooohh, she's good," the Stolls looked incredibly impressed.

 **The shot focused on the exterior of the ranger station just as the Winchesters left, a piece of paper in Liv's hand. Liv accepted a fist-bump from a laughing Dean, obviously overjoyed that Liv's convincing lie had been sold.**

" **What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam sullenly asked prompting the good mood to decline.**

 **Dean exchanged a frown with Liv before he met Sam's gaze, "What do you mean?"**

" **The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"**

 **They stopped on opposite sides of the Impala. Liv stood staunchly on Dean's right, gaping at Sam in palpable shock. "I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" and although it sounded like a question, Dean's tone brooked no argument.**

Athena nodded, impressed with the eldest, "Smart mortal. If one blindly rushes into dangerous situations, there will be a huge prospect of it ending in tragedy. That boy, Sam, he is allowing his rage and his need for vengeance to cloud his judgment."

Percy softly nudged Annabeth and whispered, "A strategy worthy of Athena, huh?"

Annabeth giggled and landed a swift kiss on his cheek.

Poseidon raised an eyebrow at his son, his sharp eyes having witnessed the exchange. Sheepishly, Percy put a finger against his lips in a 'don't tell' gesture. Grinning cheekily, sea-green eyes dancing with mirth, the Sea God sent him his customary wink, a subtle affirmation of his silence regarding the matter, though inwardly, he hoped to be present once Athena discovered her daughter was in a serious relationship with his son. ' _Oh, the fireworks would be immensely entertaining…_ '

 **There was a beat of silence as Dean and Liv stared at Sam in shock.**

" **What?" Sam snapped.**

" **Well, you used to be the main advocate for 'being better prepared'. Since when are you a champion of shoot first and ask questions later?!" Liv retorted. Dean flicked his thumb toward her in complete agreement, "What she said."**

 **Sam scowled, "Since now." He then turned away and the sound of the car door opening could be heard.**

" **Really?!" Dean snarked. Liv shrugged and followed Sam's example, making herself comfortable in the backseat.**

"You know… just out of curiosity, but isn't Liv supposed to be in school?" Rachel asked, the thought having just occurred to her.

Clarisse shrugged, "There are online courses."

Athena leaned forward in curiosity, her piercing gray gaze scrutinizing each demigod, settling a moment longer on her daughter, "What do you do in regards to your schooling?" The other gods who had children at camp perked up, sharing Athena's curiosity.

"Well," Katie prefaced, twisting her fingers, slightly uncomfortable with the gods' undivided attention, "Year-rounders are offered online courses, like Clarisse just said. And Chiron makes sure to stock up the library in Cabin 6 with many educational books for us to learn."

"Older campers at Camp Half-Blood tutor us if we're having problems. Or sometimes, if a camper excels at a subject they voluntarily offer to teach us. Take Malcolm Pace from the Athena Cabin for example, he's a genius when it comes to chemistry," Will supplied.

Travis smirked at Will, "Not to forget you and Kayla are scary smart when it comes to biology."

Will flushed under the praise, "Well, we are children of Apollo."

Apollo beamed, evidently taking pride in his children.

"But there are others, like me," Percy added, "who usually stay at camp only during the summers. We attend school during the year and continue our demigod training in the summers," he shrugged.

Persephone looked at them in concern, "Wouldn't it be better to attend school?"

In unison, nearly all the demigod frantically shook their heads.

"It never ends well for most demigods," Chris sounded bitter. "Monsters will always find us and attack us either before, during, or after school. And we are always mocked at or bullied for having ADHD and dyslexia, and the teachers aren't patient with us."

"Or our mortal parent don't want us around and encourage us to run away by not paying for our education," Clarisse put in, sounding detached, her matter-of-fact comment deeply disturbing the gods.

 **The Winchesters stood in front of a house, waiting by the front door. It opened, revealing a gorgeous brunette with hazel eyes who looked to be in her early twenties.**

" **You must be Haley Collins. I'm Dean, this is Sam and Liv, we're, ah, we're rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother Tommy."**

 **Haley hesitated. "Lemme see some ID."**

"Smart woman," Artemis remarked approvingly.

 **Dean confidently pulled out an ID and the camera homed in on it, displaying the name 'Samuel Cole'. Haley looked at it, and then at Sam and Liv, both of whom smiled back at her. She opened the door wider, "Come on in."**

Slowly, the demigods and Grover turned to stare at Rachel, having grown accustomed to her loud complaints in regards to the Winchesters' long list of felonies and their habit of carrying around fake IDs.

The Oracle simply sighed in resignation and kept her mouth shut.

 **Noticing the Impala, Haley complimented it, encouraging a proud smile out of Dean. She then led them into the kitchen where another boy could be seen sitting at the table and immersed in his laptop.**

 **The scene progressed. They were sitting around the table with drinks in front of them, and Haley placed a bowl in the middle before joining them.**

" **So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam inquired.**

"The video message!" Percy exclaimed excitedly, causing a startled Annabeth and Grover, both of whom were sitting on either side of him, to jump with a start.

Thalia leaned over Nico to better gauge Percy, "What are you on about, Kelp Head?"

Ignoring Thalia's term of 'endearment', Percy quickly said, "The video, from the forest. _Remember_? The monster's shadow appeared on the video he sent to his sister! If they notice it, then they'll be one step closer to solving the case." Cue astounded expressions from his friends. "What?"

"That's, that's actually impressive. I mean, I expected Annabeth to figure it out," Leo smirked, receiving a light smack from Piper

Percy pouted, "I'm smart. I can be smart if I want to."

"Yes he can. Stop teasing him," Annabeth grinned, scooching closer to Percy and kissing him on the cheek.

Athena scowled, upset at her daughter's actions and over the fact that the sea spawn realized something important before her.

" **He checks in every day by cell," Haley informed them, sitting down. "He emails, photos, stupid little videos – we haven't heard** _ **anything**_ **in over** _ **three days now**_ **."**

" **Maybe he can't get cell reception," Liv theorized, but Haley quickly shot her down with a "He's got satellite phone."**

" **Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean asked.**

 **The boy looked up from his laptop, looked at Dean and quickly said, "He wouldn't do that."**

" **Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other," Haley stated, her words filled with certainty, leaving no doubt.**

Nico scowled, knowing the feeling all too well. It had been Nico and Bianca against the world, sticking together for seven decades through thick and thin, until Bianca abandoned him for Artemis and then died shortly after. Then, she chose to try for the Isles of the Blest instead of waiting for him at Elysium.

From beside him, Thalia lightly nudged him, a knowing look in her eyes, "Hey, you okay?"

He nodded, not in the mood to rehash the past. From over his head, Thalia and Percy's gaze connected, both their expressions filled with concern for their cousin.

" **Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asked.**

 **Haley pulled up pictures from the laptop. "That's Tommy." She then clicked twice and another picture popped up, opening the latest video he sent. "Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."**

 **Sam's eyes widened a fraction. The camera homed in on the shadow flicking past at an unnatural speed.**

Poseidon grinned, savoring the disgruntled expression on Athena's face.

" **Well, we'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing," Dean reassured the brother and sister.**

 **Haley nodded, "Then maybe I'll see you there." At Liv's raised eyebrow, she elaborated, "Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."**

 **Dean's eyes flickered from Liv to Sam and he sighed, "I think I know how you feel."**

"Yeah," Travis nodded, looking oddly solemn, an expression that didn't suit his usual mischievous grin. "If it were Connor, there's nothing I wouldn't do to find him."

Connor, embarrassed, bumped shoulders with him, "Ditto."

Thalia and Jason traded sad smiles; there was nothing Thalia could do as she believed her baby brother to be dead. Almost immediately, her eyes bore into Hera's forehead and Nico warily scooched over to be closer to Grover upon seeing jolts of electricity spark from her fingertips.

" **Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked Haley.**

 **The scenery changed once again. It was nighttime and in a bar the Winchesters sat on a table. The camera took in their surroundings, showing somebody break a game of pool, a waitress walking past carrying beer and a few rowdy men passing around shots.**

" **So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found," Sam said, opening John's journal.**

"Seriously?" Rachel snapped in disbelief. "In one month two hikers disappeared and there hasn't been an inspection or anything? They're still giving permits to hike there?!"

Dionysus rolled his eyes, still brooding over his scorched magazine, "You can't expect us to fathom the way mortal minds work, Racquel."

"It's _Rachel_ ," she snappishly corrected him.

"Yes, yes, that's what I said."

Travis shook his head and rolled his eyes, "He's not far off." When Rachel focused her glare on him instead, Travis scowled, "Oh, you think you've got it bad? Nine years at camp and he _still_ calls me Tracey Sill! _Tracey_! Do I _look_ like a girl?"

Rachel's lower lip quivered for a moment before she burst into laughter. In fact, nearly everyone overheard Travis and started laughing at his expense, excluding Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Hades, Amphitrite, Athena and Hecate. Hermes however, glowered at an indifferent Dionysus, his lips suspiciously twitching as though he were trying to repress a smile.

" **And before that?" Dean asked.**

 **Sam pulled out a few newspaper articles to show Dean and Liv.**

 **Liv pouted, "Can someone read it out for me."**

" **Oh, right," Sam shifted uncomfortably, he obviously forgot about her dyslexia. "In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack."**

"Would you look at that? You're on the same wavelength as the mortals, Dionysus," Hermes said in a biting tone, recalling his initial flippant comment.

Dionysus glared daggers at him and snapped his fingers. Another wine magazine appeared in his hand and he promptly buried his nose behind it. Another snap later, and the wine magazine met the fate of its precursor. " _Hephaestus_ , would you _stop_ doing that!"

The blacksmith merely continued tinkering, ignoring the drunk loon in the room.

 **Sam pulled out his laptop, reading a few articles from his search, "And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936." The camera focused on the laptop screen, displaying a window open to Tommy's video. "Every twenty-three years, just like clockwork."**

" **Almost like this thing hibernates," Liv mused out loud.**

Artemis looked pensive for a moment, "I can comprehend why the mortals believed the disappearances to be relatable to a bear attack."

 **Sam smiled at Liv, "Exactly… Okay, watch this. Here's a clincher." He rotated the laptop in an angle that would allow Dean and Liv to see the screen clearly. "I downloaded the guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out." He proceeded to pull up the video and went through three frames one at a time. A shadow flicked past.**

" **Do that again," Dean's voice was sharp and he leaned closer. Sam repeated the frame and said, "That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."**

 **Dean pounded Sam on the shoulder, "Told you something weird was going on."**

"The rangers should have realized something was wrong when the disappearances first started in 1936!" Hazel snapped, discarding her usually soft disposition in the face of human stupidity and negligence.

Artemis couldn't help but feel guilty; she was an immortal- Goddess of the Hunt and the Wilderness! Proof of her ignorance regarding this monster's activity that had been taking place for nearly a century consumed her with shame.

" **I got one more thing," Sam said, closing the laptop. "In 'fifty-nine, one camper survived this** _ **supposed**_ **grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."**

"Children are resilient," Hestia smiled fondly.

 **Dean glimpsed at** _ **The Lost Creek Gazette**_ **. "Is there a name?"**

 **The screen turned black.**

 **An old man with scraggly white hair, a five o' clock shadow and a cigarette in his mouth was leading the Winchesters inside his house. When he spoke, he sounded incredibly unreceptive and slightly suspicious, "Look, ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this. It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a –"**

" **Grizzly?" Sam interrupted. "That's what attacked them?"**

 **The old man took a puff of his cigarette, took it out and curtly nodded.**

Demeter wrinkled her nose, "Disgusting habit."

Aphrodite nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Not only does it leave behind a revolting odor, but it is detrimental to your teeth, and it makes your skin dry and discolored. And don't get me started on the effect on your hair! It can cause premature thinning and even make you bald. Beauty must be maintained," she strongly concluded her passionate speech. Her eyes narrowed on Piper, "I don't want you picking up that nasty habit, you hear me?"

"Ugh, don't worry, Mom. I don't touch that stuff. The smell alone repulses me," Piper promised.

Placated, Aphrodite smiled and leaned back in her throne.

" **The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean asked. The old man stayed silent. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?" he was getting riled up the more Mr. Shaw remained silent.**

" **Mr. Shaw, in order to stop these attacks we need to know what we're dealing with. Help us. We might be able to stop it," Liv addressed him, taking a softer approach than Dean.**

 **Mr. Shaw eyed Liv in silence as though he were appraising her before he sighed loudly. "I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make."**

"The truth always makes a difference," Apollo declared.

 **He then sat down, his expression one of defeat, "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."**

"There's the answer to your question, Rach," Thalia suddenly blurted. "Mortals see and believe what they want to. That's why the Mist affects them so much. When the guy was a kid, he told the truth, and because it didn't fit into their criteria of normalcy, they brushed him off as a kid with an overactive imagination."

"And that would be humanity's downfall," Hades murmured for only Persephone and Hecate to hear.

 **Sam and Liv sat down in front of him while Dean preferred to remain standing.**

" **Mr. Shaw, what did you see?" Sam asked kindly.**

 **After a brief pause, he said, "Nothing. It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like…no man or animal I ever heard."**

"That's 'cause it wasn't an animal _or_ a man," Leo declared in an obvious tone.

" _Shh_!"Piper, Hazel and Annabeth scowled at him.

Leo raised his hands in a surrender motion, "Chill, chicas."

Faced with Clarisse's vicious glare, Leo promptly hunched down and clamped his mouth shut.

" **It came at night?" Sam probed. Mr. Shaw nodded. "Got inside your tent?"**

 **He shook his head, "It got inside our cabin. I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screaming."**

"Monsters have hands," Jason stated.

Thalia rolled her eyes, "Well done, Sherlock."

Jason rolled his eyes at his sister's teasing smirk, "You know what I mean. I'm just saying, some monsters have the sufficient smarts to unlock a door."

 **The shot stayed focused on Liv as Sam asked, "It killed them?" and when Mr. Shaw promptly replied, "Dragged them off into the night." Liv's face contorted with fear and the screen alternated to show the interior of a dilapidated cabin. John's familiar voice could be heard in the background, "Alright Olivia. Don't open the door for anybody, we'll be back soon. Try getting some sleep."**

"What is this?" Demeter frowned.

Poseidon stroked his lower lip with his index finger, "I believe sister, that Olivia is having a flashback."

 **The lights in the cabin were out. The only source of light was the moonlight reflecting through the grimy windows.**

Hera wrinkled her nose in distaste, "Look at the poor state of that place! It's a _hovel_! The least John could do is clear the dust from accumulating."

"I'm pretty sure that cabin is rented for the weekend, dear," Zeus patted her hand, effectively shutting her up, much to the demigods' collective pleasure.

 **The camera slowly moved through the house, only stopping on a young girl with dark brown hair and a tiny frame, curled up underneath the blankets in a large bed. Suddenly, a scraping sound echoed throughout the cabin, a sound that could be likened to something sharp scratching against metal. Doe-like dark brown eyes snapped open and the little girl reached out for the gun sitting on the bedside table.**

"Who gives a _gun_ to a little girl?!" Hera once again, screeched at the top of her lungs.

Annabeth huffed, and it took a lot of effort to speak with her most hated god with an air of calmness, "I thought we already covered this before? When you live amongst monsters, you learn to carry weapons on you at a young age."

Miffed, Hera glared at the daughter of Athena, but Annabeth had already returned her attention to the screen.

 **Shaking like a leaf, she hid the gun under the blanket and pretended to be asleep just as the front door creaked open.**

Piper shivered, "I hate that sound."

"Since when?" Leo inquired.

"Since I started a scary movie phase a few years back. Ugh, moving on, I don't want to remember that," Piper grimaced, making herself comfortable in Jason's arms.

Aphrodite failed in muffling her squeal of delight upon seeing her daughter radiating such love with the son of Zeus… _Jupiter_?-whatever!

 **Sixteen-year-old Liv blinked and the camera turned back to the present. "Why it left me alive…been asking myself that ever since," Mr. Shaw was saying. Liv shook her head, eyes refocusing on him as his hand traveled to the collar of his shirt, "Did leave me this, though."**

 **He opened his collar and the shot zoomed in on three long scars.**

"Those are claw marks," Artemis stated with utmost conviction.

" **There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of demon," Mr. Shaw concluded.**

 **The camera relocated to the past. The little girl curled up in bed was looked at from an outsider's point of view. A bloodcurdling growl rumbled in the room prompting her to give up all pretenses and open her eyes. Oak-brown eyes widened in horror and the gun in her hand went off.**

 **A dent appeared in the wall, the bullet having obviously missed its target.**

 **Razor-like claws appeared on the screen, glinting menacingly as it swiped forward.**

"NO!" it was an instinctive reaction made by nearly every individual in the room.

This wasn't the sort of action meant as entertainment, therefore, Ares kept his gaze focused on the screen, his expression one of neutrality. Though if somebody looked close enough, they would notice the arms of his throne groaned as he tightly gripped them.

 **She swiftly rolled out of bed. She scrambled to get onto her feet and aim the barrel of the gun at her attacker but, too fast for the observers to see, the razor-like claws swiped again, knocking the gun from her hand and nicking her in the process, one deep gash appearing on the palm-side of her tiny hand.**

 **The screen turned black. And throughout the darkness, an inhumane roar followed by little Liv's terrified scream rang out.**

"Olivia was attacked by a monster when she was a child?" Ariadne rhetorically asked, tears welling in her eyes. Like most of the gods in the room, she too had adopted quite a soft spot for the young godling.

Thalia, Annabeth, Leo, Jason, Percy, the Stolls, Clarisse… well, _basically_ every single demigod mumbled in unison, "Join the club."

Their godly parent pursed their lips, not liking their instantaneous rejoinder. But alas, such is the life of a demigod. Due to the sufficient amount of ichor coursing through their veins, demigods were like honey to monsters and being pursued by them could not be altered.

"Well," Apollo prefaced, attempting to be optimistic, "we know that she survived the attack."

"Yes. But for some reason, I strongly believed this monster that attacked the three young men, as well as Mr. Shaw and his parents, is the same monster to attack young Olivia," Artemis announced.

Hermes nodded, "I'm with Artemis on this one. It's like episodes if you haven't noticed. The last one revolved around that ghost. This one is about a monster. I do not think it's farfetched to assume that this monster targeted Olivia in the past, which is why flashbacks are shown in this episode."

"So…like a TV show?" Chris hesitantly asked.

Hermes beamed at him, "Exactly, son."

Not having anything more to add, everyone turned their attention back toward the screen, all but for Aphrodite, who alternated her kaleidoscopic eyes from the screen to Ares, concerned at her lover's indifference.

 **In an empty hallway of a motel, Sam, Dean and Liv were discussing their facts.**

" **Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they just go through the walls," Dean was saying.**

"I'm sorry, but… _demons_?" Frank interrupted.

Hades glanced at him with disinterest.

Hecate waved a hand, not thinking much about it, "Probably a fancy word used by them to describe monsters, child. Do not think much about it."

Frank, the other demigods, Rachel and Grover nodded, relieved.

 **Sam nodded, agreeing with his brother, "So it's probably something else, something corporeal."**

 **Dean snorted, "Corporeal? Excuse me, professor."**

" **Shut up, Dean," Liv snapped. "What do we know that's wicked fast with freaky claws?"**

 **Dean looked thoughtful for a moment, "Could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature, and it's corporeal. Which means we can kill it."**

Some of the individuals in the room could be seen mouthing 'skinwalker' and 'black dog' in confusion.

"I see what they meant before when they called themselves 'Hunters' and claimed to have saved lives," Triton put in.

Despite her constant state of confusion, Artemis couldn't help but smile proudly; she slightly understood the Winchesters and could draw a few parallels between them and her Hunters.

 **In a parking lot, Dean opened the trunk of the Impala and then propped open the compartment where all their arsenal was hidden, with the butt of a shotgun. Together, he and Live began dumping a number of guns into a duffel bag.**

" **We cannot let that Haley girl go out there," Sam remarked.**

" **Oh yeah?" Dean scoffed, quirking an eyebrow at Sam. "What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?"**

 **Sam nodded, "Yeah."**

 **Liv rolled her eyes and smacked Dean on the chest, "Let me handle this one. Sam-" she looked at him, "-her brother's** _ **missing**_ **. You really think she's just gonna sit it out?** _ **No**_ **. We'll just tag along, protect her, and keep our eyes peeled for Freddy Krueger."**

The Stolls groaned, "She _had_ to bring up Freddy Krueger."

"Who's Freddy Krueger?" Annabeth asked. Nico, Jason, Hazel and Leo stared at them inquiringly, also wanting to know.

Percy grimaced, "This serial-killer, nightmare-demon who's identified by his disfigured and burned nightmare-inducing face. His trademark weapon is this brown leather glove with metal claws. Believe me, you guys didn't miss out."

Hermes shook his head in amazement, "Why would you kids watch something like that?"

"Well, in our defense, we didn't know our lives were going to be a nightmare when we first watched the series," Travis pointed out.

Connor shrugged, "And Mom always worked late so she wasn't around to monitor our sleeping habits and enforce age-appropriate movies."

Hermes' smile dimmed, he didn't like hearing about his children suffering before making it to camp. "How old were you when you watched it?"

"Eight," "Seven," Travis and Connor said at the same time.

Hermes buried his face in his hands, his resentment at his father for passing on a law forbidding the gods from having physical contact with their children, intensifying.

"If I knew my life would be a horror movie, I'd never have watched the Nightmare on Elm Street films," Piper shuddered, recalling Krueger's scarred face and creepy voice.

Percy nodded in wholehearted agreement, "Yeah. I just thought I was a normal boy with ADHD and dyslexia who came from a family of nobodies-"

"NOBODY!" Zeus boomed, slowly rising from his throne. "We are not _nobodies_!"

Poseidon rolled his eyes, but before he could calm his dramatic brother down, Percy piped up, "Wow, I see what Dad meant. You ready do have a flair for the theatrics."

There was complete silence in the throne room as Zeus's eyes bugged out, gaping at Percy in affront and apoplectic rage. The others however, demigods _and_ gods, burst into bouts of laughter with no restraints. Even Hera and Dionysus.

"You said that?" Amphitrite asked her husband, eyes twinkling with merriment.

Poseidon chuckled, sending another one of his customary winks at a sheepish Percy. "Yes, I always believed Zeus would've done well as the god of theatre. My opinion on the matter has yet to change, so _stop_ looking at me like that, brother," he snapped at Zeus, who decided to pinpoint his brother with a glare, instead of his nephew.

Once Thalia's laughter had subsided, she leaned over Nico and Grover to slap Percy atop the head, "You trying to get yourself killed?"

"He does have a unique knack for pissing off the gods," Annabeth said in a resigned tone.

"Punk's got a death wish," Ares grunted once he settled down, though he looked like he approved.

" **Krueger? Nah, I prefer 'fuzzy predator friend'," Dean grinned, picking up the duffel bag.**

 **Sam slammed the weapons box shut, expression tight, "Finding Dad's not enough." He then slammed the trunk, "Now we gotta babysit too?" Dean and Liv stared at him in disbelief. "What?!"**

" **What do you m-" Dean cut Liv off by pulling her alongside him and throwing Sam a nonchalant "nothing" before they both walked off, leaving Sam to stare after them in angered confusion and follow them.**

Apollo made a sound of realization, "I can definitely see the resemblance to Ares."

The God of War arched a brow and leaned forward in genuine curiosity, "Really?"

"Quick to anger, prone to bouts of violence, and since we started watching this, she's been itching to get in a fight with Sam," Apollo explained. "If more comes up, I'll let you know," he smirked.

Ares growled at him and looked away; he frankly didn't see it.

 **The scene shifted to show a man wearing shorts talking to Haley and her brother as he checked over his shotgun. All three of them had backpacks slung across their backs.**

" **I'll tell you again, I don't think Ben should come," the man said in exasperation.**

 **Haley sighed, "Roy-"**

" **Look, you're paying me good money to keep everybody safe. I think Ben's safest at home," Roy persisted.**

"I think they're all safest at home," Nico stated the obvious.

"Well, as a big sister, I can see where she's coming from," Thalia piped up. "She already has one brother missing, she's not about to let her other brother out of her sight."

Throwing a side-glance at Connor, Travis mumbled, "I wouldn't."

 **At that moment, the Impala pulled up and the Winchesters got out.**

" **You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked. Before Haley could get a word in, Liv cut in, "Note that no matter what your answer is, we're going in. So Dean here's just being polite."**

"Saucy," Leo sighed dreamily.

Hermes hid a smile behind his hand, "She's got an attitude problem, that's for sure."

Apollo scratched his head in mock-thought, "Hmm, remind you of someone?"

"Shut up you annoying punks!" Ares growled, not amused in the slightest.

 **For the first time since his appearance, Ben showed a true smile. Sam rolled his eyes and Dean chuckled while Haley's lips twitched in amusement. Roy however, was looking at the Winchesters in shock, "Who are these guys?"**

" **Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue," Haley snappishly retorted.**

 **In disbelief, Roy said, "You're rangers?"**

"Oh, let them whip out their _fake_ IDs to establish their cover," Rachel mumbled, much to her friends' amusement.

 **Dean nodded in affirmative.**

" **And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Haley commented, staring them down.**

 **Dean looked down at himself and smirked, his voice oozing with arrogant charm, "Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." He then walked passed her.**

Aphrodite exaggeratedly fanned herself.

"Kind of reminds me of Apollo when he turns up the charm," Percy whispered to Nico, Grover and Thalia, all of whom were present when Apollo attempted to flirt with Artemis's hunters, including the highly displeased Zoë Nightshade.

Grover and Nico chuckled at the memory while Thalia sighed in exasperation, "He _still_ does that."

" **Yeah, and I'm not too keen on getting mosquito bites, thank you very much," Liv quipped.**

 **Roy stared after them as though they were a joke, "What, you think this is funny? It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt."**

" **That's what we're here for," Liv retorted. Roy's gaze slowly raked her form, but before he could say something offensive, Sam, his eyes glinting with a warning, stepped in, "Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just want to help them find their brother, that's all."**

 **Rolling her eyes, Liv joined Sam, mumbling, "Sammy-boy, always the peacemaker."**

 **The screen turned black.**

"You guys notice how Liv rolls her eyes a lot?" Katie inquired conversationally.

Percy grinned and tightened his arm around Annabeth, "I get what you mean. Annabeth and Thalia does it a lot too."

"We do not!" they exclaimed, miffed.

The Stolls and Jason scoffed, "Yes, you do."

"Whatever!" Thalia and Annabeth chanted, rolling their eyes without thinking.

"SEE!" Percy, the Stolls and Jason pointed their fingers at them, prompting the other demigods, Grover and Rachel to laugh.

" _Argh_!" they groaned.

The gods smiled, amused by their antics, barring Hera who disliked demigods in general, Dionysus, who managed to conjure a book without Hephaestus noticing, and the blacksmith himself, who was busy tinkering with his tools.

 **The camera showed the exterior of a mine shaft before it homed in on the interior, barely any light entering the area. Tom and his friend, Gary were hung from the ceiling by their wrists and littered around them, were assorted corpses, looking quite grotesque and with barely any skin left.**

Hazel slapped a hand to her mouth and Piper let out a strangled noise of disgust, "Oh, I'm gonna hurl."

"Please don't," Leo whined, looking nauseous himself. "Because I'm already holding it in and if you hurl, you'll just make me hurl."

"Me too," Frank groaned.

Grover nodded frantically in agreement, his eyes having gone slit-pupilled the way they did whenever he was terrified.

"I guess uh, the other guy didn't make it, huh?" Clarisse said sadly, bringing the mood down.

 **The familiar blood-curdling growl could be heard and an undistinguishable tall skinny shape approached Gary. Tommy attempted to turn away, but due to the angle he was in, he could still see everything clearly, so he shut his eyes.**

 **Gary's pained and frightened yells rang in the mine.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"Oh gods!" and "Di immortales!" resonated in the room.

Dionysus put his magazine down, his expression strangely grave, "Telling from the state of those corpses, this monster is a cannibal. It _eats_ its victims. Not kills, _eats_."

"Argh! We get it, we don't need a colorful image," Leo shakily exclaimed, flapping his hands over his head as though that simple action would blow the image Dionysus created away.

Apollo looked at his brother in suspicion, "I thought you weren't paying attention."

"Hmm? Who said I was?" was his absentminded retort before he flipped the page and buried his nose in the magazine. Apollo rolled his eyes.

Poseidon, who had his arms full with a nauseated Amphitrite, grimaced, "If no one has anything more to comment on, shall we proceed?" though it must be taken into consideration that the Sea God didn't seem too thrilled to resume the film.

 **It was still daytime and the camera focused on the group hiking through the forest: Roy was in the lead, followed closely by Dean, Liv, Haley and her brother Ben, with Sam bringing up the rear. The shot homed in on the front, where Dean was engaging Roy in conversation.**

" **Roy, you said you did a little hunting," Dean said. Roy nodded, though he looked disgruntled with Dean's questioning, "Yeah, more than a little."**

Grover's expression was identical to Roy's. Unlike his friends, he wasn't a vegetarian and got very touchy over the acts of cruelty animals faced on a daily basis.

" **Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?" Dean asked.**

 **Roy threw him a swift glance from over his shoulder, "Mostly buck, sometimes bear."**

Percy and Annabeth offered Grover a sad, yet understanding smile.

 **Dean passed Roy, "Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?"**

The Stolls promptly burst into laughter.

" _Who_?" Nico and Hazel asked with their heads cocked in confusion.

Connor gaped at the siblings and started shaking his head at them, like a parent would when their child had disappointed them. "We really need to educate you in pop culture."

"But how can you not know them? _Everyone_ knows them!" Leo asked in disbelief.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Bambi made its debut in 1942 and Yogi in 1958, Leo. They were both…out of commission." Annabeth squirmed uncomfortably; Nico's seven-decade-long stay in Vegas and Hazel's resurrection were sort of a taboo and extremely touchy topic, and they all tried to avoid bringing it up.

Nico however, flashed Annabeth a diminutive smile in understanding.

Noticing the strained atmosphere circling around the teenagers, Apollo addressed the children of Hades, "Don't worry about it. You two didn't miss much. Bambi is a deer and Yogi a bear, and they're both forest-dwelling cartoon characters."

"Thanks," Hazel's cheeks were tinged with pink. She quickly turned a beet red color when Apollo winked in welcome.

Artemis let out a long-suffering sigh. Even when her brother wasn't attempting to flirt or turning on his charm, he _still_ managed to render women speechless or bring about a blush out of them.

The entire time, Hades sat stoically on his dark throne, stroking his chin in deep thought as his intense dark orbs never detached from his son and daughter. The curiosity was eating at him. He had a strong suspicion regarding how his son left the Lotus Hotel, but the inclusion of Hazel Levesque and the whereabouts of Bianca had him reeling. Nico and Bianca had always been inseparable, never finding one without the other, and Hazel was supposed to be in Asphodel.

 **Suddenly, with no warning, Roy grabbed Dean, halting him in his tracks. Sam looked on while Liv took a step closer. "Whatcha doing, Roy?" Dean calmly asked, though his eyes glinted with a warning.**

 **Roy grabbed a stick and poked the place Dean was a hairsbreadth away from stepping on. It was a bear trap. The shot settled on Haley for a moment: she looked annoyed.**

" **You should watch where you're stepping.** _ **Ranger**_ **," Roy commented, dropping the stick and retaking the lead.**

 **Liv scrutinized the trap, "Bear trap. Careful, Dean. You're losing your touch." Dean laughed sarcastically after her as she continued after Roy.**

"This is not an easy mistake for a ranger to make," Artemis stated.

Hermes nodded in agreement, "I think he may have blown his cover with that Haley girl."

 **As the others continued walking, Haley caught up to Dean and matter-of-factly said, "You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a** _ **duffel**_ **bag. You're** _ **not**_ **rangers."**

"Called it," Hermes grinned.

 **She then grabbed Dean's arm and snarled, "So who the hell are you?"**

 **Ben walked past them and Sam looked and Dean in question. Dean tilted his head toward Liv, indicating for Sam to catch up with her. He obeyed and Dean's gaze trailed his cousin and brother's backs for a moment before he turned to meet Haley's hostile glare.**

" **Sam and I are brothers and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat."**

 **Haley contemplated his words, "Why didn't you just tell me that from the start? And what about Liv? I'm gonna assume that since she's with you, she's not a ranger either…"**

" **She's our cousin. And I'm telling you now," Dean responded. "'Sides, it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman…** _ **ever**_ **. So, we okay?"**

Artemis glowered, an ugly sneer on her youthful face, "And I was just beginning to approve of this man."

"Yes. This duplicitous man falls under Apollo's jurisdiction," Athena sneered.

Apollo rolled his eyes, "There's nothing wrong with being a proud bachelor."

"This coming from the god of bachelors," Athena heatedly retorted.

Before the trading of barbs could morph into a full-scale argument, Zeus intervened, his tone stern, " _Enough_."

 **There was a short pause, and then Haley offered an affirmative. Dean grinned, "And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions?" He nonchalantly pulled out a big yellow bag of M &Ms and stuck his hand in as he walked onwards. Haley shook her and followed him.**

"Yummy! I love the ones with peanuts!" Travis hummed, rubbing his belly.

"No way. The plain M&Ms are _way_ better!" Percy argued.

Connor smirked victoriously, "I keep telling him that!"

"Nah, I'm with Travis. Peanuts! They add flavor," Leo cheered.

"Chocolate is flavor enough," Percy retorted childishly.

The gods, Grover and Rachel watched as the demigods began taking sides, arguing over such a puerile topic. Not only were the Stolls at odds with one another in the M&Ms debate, but the Grace siblings as well.

"No! Plain chocolate is better!" Thalia stood up, getting carried away in the heat of the moment. Jason mimicked his older sister's stance, "No! _Peanuts_!"

Annabeth's voice could be made out over the discord, "Peanuts are healthier!"

" _Exactly_!" Percy argued, waving an accusing hand toward his girlfriend. "If I want to eat healthy, I would eat my greens! When I eat chocolate, the whole point is to _not_ eat healthy!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Prissy on this one," Clarisse grunted.

"Clarisse and Percy agree with each other? _Run for your lives_! The world is gonna end!" Leo dramatically yelled. Percy, Annabeth and Clarisse glowered at the son of Hephaestus, " _Shut up!_ " and promptly proceeded with their argument.

The discord began to escalate as voices increased in its intensity and nearly all of them were on their feet with furious expressions. The gods were torn between flummoxed and amusement, leaving it to Hestia to put an end to their debate.

"Quiet!" she ordered. Her voice was calm and she didn't bother raising her voice, but the goddess was instantly obeyed. As though awoken from a trance, the demigods' furious expressions melted into sheepish ones. "There is nothing wrong with having different tastes, children."

Hermes chuckled, "I prefer their argument than the ones Dad and Uncle P have regarding Grandma Rhea."

"Or whether sea disasters are more impressive than sky ones," Apollo cheekily added, a twinkle in his dazzling eyes.

Poseidon scoffed, "Mother Rhea favors me, _of course_. And sea disasters _are_ more impressive, Apollo."

"They most certainly are not!" Zeus bellowed, tightly clutching his Master Bolt as he turned to face his brother in irritation.

Hestia sighed and after shooting Hermes and Apollo a chastising look, turned to address her quarrelling brothers, "Don't you two start! You should be setting a good example to the children."

Slightly ashamed, Zeus and Poseidon warily eyed the demigods, all of whom were no longer mortified but amused, and they looked away, eyes burning a hole through the screen as the other gods chuckled at their expense.

Grimacing, Percy leaned over Grover and asked Thalia and Nico, "Do we look like that when we argue?"

Thalia and Nico shrugged in response, both looking as discomfited as Percy at the mere idea.

Annabeth and Grover shot the three cousins a look of disbelief and chanted, "You do!" much to their dismay.

 **The scene appeared to have been forwarded, displaying the group had covered a good distance.**

" **This is it. Blackwater Ridge," Roy announced.**

 **Sam walked past Roy, eyes scrutinizing their surroundings, "What coordinates are we at?"**

 **Roy promptly pulled out a GPS, and the coordinates were displayed on the screen.**

"North 35° 45.383 and West 111° 00.55," Rachel instantly translated, to which she was met with fifteen smiles of appreciation and a nod of acknowledgment from the daughter of Ares.

" **Thirty-five and minus one-eleven," Roy answered.**

 **Liv went to stand by Dean's side as Sam joined them, "Something's fishy. There's no noise."**

" **Yeah, not even crickets," Sam agreed.**

Ares grumbled, "That's because the monster is busy eating that puny mortal boy."

" _Ares_!" Aphrodite chastised her lover, her gorgeous face a light shade of green at the disturbing image his words evoked in her head.

 **At that point, Roy announced that he was going to take a look around, but Sam was quick to warn him about going off by himself. Roy threw him a sarcastic smile, "That's sweet. Don't worry about me." He waved a gun in his hand as though to prove his point and pushed past the Winchesters to retake the lead.**

 **Liv glared at Roy's back, "I'm really starting to hate that cocky, motherfu-" Sam clapped a hand over her mouth, his expression one of heavy disapproval. Liv shot him a death glare and violently pushed his hand from her mouth before stalking away, grumbling a few obscenities under her breath.**

"She appears to have inherited your famous glare of promised death, Ares," Poseidon chuckled, the resemblance hitting him like a freight train.

Ares glowered at his favorite uncle, "She did _not_!"

Hera's lips twitched in an attempt to suppress a smile, "Actually dear, I see it as well."

"Yeah, you're doing it right now," Apollo smirked, pointing at Ares' current glare which was freakishly similar to the glare Liv sent both Roy _and_ Sam.

"You should be _proud_!" Ariadne huffed, having had more than enough of Ares' incessant denials and the plethora of hurtful words he aimed at his own daughter.

The god of war gritted his teeth and looked away.

 **Sam gaped at Liv's retreating back. "Is that-… I didn't know Liv spoke Greek. When did she learn Greek?!" he demanded, whirling around to confront Dean.**

"I don't understand," Annabeth looked utterly bemused. "Why is Sam surprised?"

Rachel appeared to be surprised by Annabeth's question, and when she spoke, her voice took on a ' _duh_ ' note, "Um, Annabeth… Sam left for Stanford for like, four years. He must've missed a lot."

Annabeth shook her head, but before she could explain the reason behind her initial surprise, Thalia took over, "No, we know that Rach. I think what Annabeth meant is her brain is hardwired for Ancient Greek, so how come she never spoke the language before, when she was still a child."

Percy shrugged. "I didn't realize until I was twelve. And that was only because I _just_ found out I was a demigod and you pointed it out to me," he told Annabeth.

"IF we may proceed with this… _episode_ ," Hera spoke distastefully, "then we can find out. Now enough chatter!"

Cue more glares of hatred directed at the oblivious Queen of Olympus.

 **Dean shook his head at Sam, his expression a mixture of sympathy and indignant, "You missed out on a lot, Sammy. Let's just leave it at that."**

"Meaning, she found out when Sam was at Stanford. So between twelve-years to sixteen," Frank deduced.

Connor cocked his head to the side, "How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"Well… going by the first scene of the last, er, _episode_?" Jason spoke as though he were unsure whether or not real-life events should be referred to as episodes. "Dean is around four years older than Sam. Since Sam's twenty-two, Dean is twenty-six. And if Liv's sixteen, there's a ten-year age difference between her and Dean, and six years between her and Sam. Sam left to Stanford at around… eighteen, which would make Liv twelve."

Percy groaned, "My mind just turned into spaghetti."

Annabeth glared at her boyfriend, "Its simple math, Percy!"

" _Moving on_ ," Katie cut in before the couple could get absorbed in their usual arguments, which most of the time had them forgetting about their surroundings and the fact that they weren't alone.

 **Dean then ignored Sam's stubborn stare and clapped his hands together, "All right, everybody stays together. Let's go,"**

 **The screen turned black, and a moment later, the shot showed Sam, Dean, Liv, Haley and Ben looking around a large rock nearby, obviously in search for something.**

" **Haley! Over here!" Roy called from a short distance away.**

 **Haley immediately ran towards his voice, the others close behind, and they all came to an abrupt halt. "Oh my God!" she whispered.**

 **The tents which belonged to Tommy and his friends were completely torn apart and bloodied, their supplies scattered on the ground.**

Nearly everyone winced at the horrible display.

"The blood of the first victim," Dionysus absently drawled as he flipped over to another page of his wine magazine.

Hephaestus peered at him from over his tools, a hand raised –

" _Don't_ even think about it, Hephaestus," Dionysus said in a firm voice without peeling his eyes from the page.

The blacksmith god rolled his eyes and continued tinkering.

" **Looks like a grizzly," Roy hypothesized.**

" **Tommy!" Haley called out, her voice frantic. She took off her backpack and started jogging through the campsite. "** _ **Tommy**_ **!"**

 **Liv quickly sprung forward and grabbed her hand in a bruising grip, "Shh!" When Haley continued to call out for her brother, Liv violently shook her and hissed, "You need to** _ **keep your voice down**_ **!"**

" **Why!?" Haley retorted.**

" **Because whatever did** _ **this**_ **," Liv waved a hand to further emphasize her point, "might still be around, and all you're doing is signaling it to our presence." She then let go of Haley's hand and joined Dean and Sam.**

"Olivia would make a truly spectacular Hunter!" Artemis said wistfully, her silver gaze hungrily stalking the aforementioned on the screen.

Thalia subtly nodded in agreement, though unlike her Lady, the lieutenant knew that Liv would never join the Hunt. It was still too soon to tell what Olivia Winchester's _official_ fatal flaw was – would she be like most children of Ares, whose fatal flaws varied from pride, to violent tendencies, to their inability to back down from a fight? But Thalia could clearly see a certain similarity between her and Percy: Loyalty. Liv was too loyal to her family, which wholly consisted of men, and therefore, she would _never_ abandon them for Artemis.

 **Liv crouched down beside them, "What's up?"**

 **Dean grimaced, "The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." They then stood up at the same time, and he continued, the grimace never leaving his face, "I'll tell you what, that's no skinwalker or black dog."**

"When he says black dog, does he mean Grim?" Rachel hesitantly inquired.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, though not in irritation, more like… fond exasperation. "Rachel, once _again_ , this _isn't_ Harry Potter!"

Persephone was intrigued, "What _exactly_ is a Grim?"

"Uh, a huge spectral black dog that usually haunts cemeteries at night, and they're infamously known as an omen for death to the person who encounters it," Rachel promptly elucidated, excited at the prospect of explaining one of her favorite novels.

"I for one think that Rowling based the Grim on the idea of a Hellhound," Annabeth murmured.

 **As Dean and Sam went to Haley and Ben, the shot homed in on Liv, her expression one of terror.**

 **Suddenly, a cry emanated from Haley's mouth as she picked up a bloody cellphone. She turned it over and found the back open. Dean crouched beside her, "Hey, he could still be alive."**

 **Haley gave him a look, but at that moment, a voice cried from nearby, "Help! Help!"**

 **Everyone turned toward the direction of the voice and ran over, Roy taking the lead.**

" **Help! Somebody!"**

 **But there was no one.**

Piper shivered, goosebumps erupting on her arms, "Do you think that's the monster?"

"Can that monster even talk? I mean, all we've heard from it so far was growling. Real creepy growling," Leo muttered, his voice shaky.

Artemis sat ramrod straight, eyes solemn, "If it indeed _is_ the monster, then it is leading them to a trap."

Thalia and Annabeth looked at each other gravely, vividly recalling the Cyclops they encountered in Brooklyn on their way to Camp Half-Blood with Luke and Grover that tried to lure Annabeth over by imitating her dad's voice.

" **It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley asked uncertainly. They waited a while longer for the voice, but it was completely silent.**

" **Everybody back to camp," Sam finally said.**

 **They returned to the campsite, only to find all their supplies missing.**

" **Our packs!" Haley gasped.**

Athena frowned, "This is a smart monster. It relieved them of any method to call for aid, making them vulnerable and at a huge disadvantage."

"Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine," Triton snorted, the sarcasm clearly audible.

"Nah, that's me," Apollo grinned cheekily.

Athena glared at them, but ultimately decided that engaging them in a quarrel wasn't worth it.

" **So much for my GPS and my satellite phone," Roy grumbled.**

" **What the hell is going on?" Haley shrieked, freaked out.**

 **Sam grimaced, and his eyes held a calculating glint, "It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."**

"Precisely what I said," Athena primly said.

Poseidon and Aphrodite rolled their eyes.

" **You mean** _ **someone**_ **," Roy snarkily retorted. "Some nutjob out there just stole all our gear."**

"Ah, the ignorance of mortals," Dionysus murmured.

 **Sam approached Dean and a suspiciously pale Liv, "I need to speak with you.** _ **In private**_ **."**

 **The Winchesters separated themselves from the group a little ways away and Sam asked for John's journal, which Dean immediately handed over. Opening it, Sam began flipping through the pages until he stopped at a particular page.**

" **All right, check that out," he said, brandishing the journal under their noses. The shot homed in on the page, showing a drawing of a figure.**

" _What_ _is_ that?" Nico tilted his head from side to side in an effort to put a name to the weird drawing.

 **Almost immediately, the shot focused on Dean and Liv. Liv was biting her lower lip and her hands were trembling. Dean's expression adopted one of denial, rapidly shaking his head as he gazed from the opened journal to Sam, Liv and back at Sam.**

" **Oh** _ **come on**_ **, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan. I've** _ **never**_ **even heard of one this far," Dean denied.**

"Wendigo?" nearly half the room parroted in palpable confusion.

"What's a _Wendigo_?" Percy repeated in a hush to which he was met with many shrugs.

 **But Sam was resolute in his theory, "Think about it, Dean. The claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."**

"It's most certainly is not a Cyclops," Poseidon put in.

" **Sam's right," Liv finally spoke, her voice slightly hoarse. Dean turned around to face her, his expression sad while Sam looked as confused as ever. "I've… when we were at Shaw's, I-I, it sounded familiar, Dean." She looked at him with desperate eyes and Dean swore.**

" **Great!" Dean snapped, taking out his pistol and tossing it to the ground. "Well then this is useless."**

" **Wait a minute. What's going on here?" Sam demanded to know. But Dean ignored him, his intense gaze on Liv's face, "Look, Liv, maybe you should… I mean, maybe it's best if you sit this one out-"**

" **No," Liv interjected, stubbornly shaking her head.**

" **Liv-"**

" **I said** _ **no**_ **!" Liv was steadfast in her decision. "I'm not gonna run and hide like a coward while you all risk your lives out there. You know I'm not the type to run away from my problems. I'm gonna face the son of a bitch and torch it!"**

" _ **What's**_ **going on?!" Sam demanded loudly.**

Amphitrite looked grim, "So we assumed correctly then. Olivia was attacked by the same monster."

"She's a courageous demigod," Zeus stated, shocking nearly everyone as he rarely doled out compliments, most especially to a demigod that wasn't sired by him.

Aphrodite sneakily glanced at Ares, but he looked as composed as ever, unruffled and much to her irritation, completely at ease with the horrifying discovery. She sent a look of frustration to Apollo, who was looking at her sadly and he gave her a diminutive shake of the head – probing Ares and pushing for him to show his emotions would end badly at the current moment.

 **Liv avoided his gaze and stated, "Never mind that. We gotta get these people to safety. They're no match for it."**

 **As Liv walked over to the campsite, Sam glared at Dean, "What aren't you telling me, Dean?!"**

" **A lot of things, Sammy. And before you ask,** _ **no**_ **. It's not my story to tell." and he too followed Liv, leaving a frustrated Sam to stare after their retreating backs.**

"I sense a strained relationship between Olivia and Sam," Aphrodite commented.

Hades grunted. "I'm not surprised. Olivia is obviously holding on to feelings of abandonment. She was young when he walked out and left to university, she no doubt holds a grudge against him."

"And you'd know all about holding grudges. After all, you are the King of grudges," Demeter retorted snarkily.

"Mother!" Persephone snapped.

"Look who's talking," Hecate mumbled to herself; Demeter was infamous for her grudge against Hades, adamant in never giving her blessing regarding his marriage to Persephone, despite the fact that her daughter was immensely happy with the Lord of the Dead and deeply in love with him.

Hades sneered at his whiny sister and whinging mother-in-law, "Yes. _I am_. It comes with the territory when one is constantly abandoned by their family!"

Zeus, Poseidon and Hera shifted uncomfortably in their thrones, while Hestia sadly gazed at her brother, her eyes welling with tears of sympathy, and the other gods and the teenagers looked away from the awkward scene.

Clearing her throat, Hecate announced in a neutral voice, "Perhaps it's best we proceed with the, ahh, episode."

 **Liv clapped her hands together, "All right. Chop, chop, it's time to go. Things have gotten dangerous and more complicated. Believe me, not a nice combo."**

" **What?" Haley looked at her bemusedly.**

 **Roy scoffed, glaring at Liv in distaste, "Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it."**

" **And your arrogance will be your downfall," Liv retorted, clenching her fists.**

 **Sam stepped in before things could escalate between them, "We're not worried about ourselves. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave.** _ **Now**_ **!"**

" **One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give** _ **anybody**_ **orders," Roy snarled.**

"Fool!" Hecate hissed.

Ares scoffed, his expression one of palpable disgust, "Mortals have always been easy prey because of their simplemindedness."

" _Hey_!" Rachel glared at him in affront. "What's with all the sudden prejudice against mortals? You can't blame the guy. It's not like we're all encouraged at a young age to believe in monsters and gods and-and, _ugh_! Whatever I give up. It's like talking to a wall."

"Excuse me, girl. _What_ did you liken us to?" Zeus barked looking thunderous.

Rachel squarely met his gaze with folded arms, unimpressed and not even a smidge intimidated.

Percy, Nico and Annabeth smiled fondly at the Oracle; if she could stand up to Kronos and toss a hairbrush at his face, then she could meet Zeus's gaze unflinchingly.

Apollo smiled, impressed at his Oracle's boldness and bravery. He cheerfully clapped his hands together, interrupting the staring contest, "Well then. Let's continue, shall we?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely," Poseidon happily agreed with his nephew. Rachel was officially one of his favorite mortals for standing up to his pain in the ass younger brother, and by the looks on Hades' face, he appeared to be thinking among the same lines.

 **Dean tried to get everyone to relax, to no avail, as his attempts went ignored.**

" **We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you," Sam snapped, losing his patience. Roy stepped right into Sam's personal space, "** _ **You**_ **protect** _ **me**_ **? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."**

Percy flinched for Sam's sake, "That's a low blow."

"It's not like he knew his mother died when he was a baby," Piper defended Roy, despite the fact that he was also getting on her nerves with his rudeness and arrogance.

Clarisse looked excited, "Liv's not gonna like that."

" **You shut your mouth!" Liv yelled, stomping over to Roy with her fists raised, her knuckles whitening. "You don't know** _ **anything**_ **about us! And guess what smart-ass? This is completely out of your depth! You know nothing about this thing! It's a damn near perfect hunter and it's way smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you unless we get your sorry, unworthy ass out of here!"**

 **Roy laughed at her, a sneer displayed on his face. "Yeah, and what do you know about this 'hunter', kid?" each word oozed with sarcasm.**

" **Seeing as I was once attacked by it, plenty," Liv coldly retorted.**

"Guess the cat's out of the bag," Connor stated.

" _ **Liv**_ **! That's enough!" Dean snapped, at the same time a bewildered Sam gaped at her, "Wait,** _ **what**_ **?"**

" **Stop. Stop it! Everybody just stop!" Haley shrieked. "Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."**

"That's dedication," Leo whistled.

Percy shook his head, "No. That's family."

 **There was a long strained pause; Liv and Roy were glaring at each other with malice, Dean had a hand on Liv's shoulder, Sam was staring at his brother and cousin in bewilderment and Ben remained obediently silent as he stood beside his hysterical sister.**

 **Sucking in a deep breath, Dean said, in a voice of forced calm, "It's getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."**

 **Haley looked at Dean, "How?"**

 **The screen turned black.**

"You know, I've been thinking," Piper prefaced, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I watched this episode on Charmed-"

Rachel interjected, " _Charmed_?"

Piper waved a hand, "Yeah, it's this TV sho-"

"I know what Charmed is," Rachel interrupted yet again, her face one of palpable disbelief. "You actually _watch that_?!"

The daughter of Aphrodite glared at the redhead in irritation, " _Yes_. I happen to _like_ Charmed, just like how you're obsessed with Harry Potter. Now can I continue, or are you gonna keep interrupting me?" she snapped with attitude. Rachel rolled her eyes and mimed locking her lips with a key. "As I was saying. In one episode, the monster of the week was a Wendigo. In their definition, the first Wendigo was a mortal who was betrayed by his lover and in revenge, he slew her and ate her heart, which turned his heart to ice. During daylight and the phases of the moon, the Wendigo appears like a normal human, but on the three days of the full moon it transforms into a Wendigo, sort of like the werewolf myth, and you know…eats people's hearts. But the Wendigo turned out to be a woman in that episode," she added as a second thought.

Her friends stared at her with varying looks of disgust.

"Ugh. I'm gonna have to agree with Rachel. You watch that?" Will grimaced.

Piper rolled her eyes, "It's not like they showed the heart being chomped on!"

Demeter unconsciously shuddered as the current topic brought back the grotesque memory of Tantalus' abominable action and deception, and the nauseating aftertaste of poor Pelops' shoulder.

Aphrodite was staring at her daughter in horror, distraught that her daughter preferred to watch such repulsive shows instead of ones that revolved around the affairs of the heart.

Athena looked at Piper, contemplating her words and this peculiar show. "I believe there to be a Native Cree lore about this creature, though I cannot recall its intricacies."

"How positively shocking," Poseidon sarcastically drawled.

Before Athena could retort, a weary Hera intervened, "Perhaps if we continue watching the events, light could be shed on this conundrum. Now. Let us proceed. _Hopefully_ , with no more interruptions."

 **It was nighttime and a campfire had been built. Dean and Liv were sitting side by side, both of them engrossed in their task of drawing in the dirt.**

" **One more time, that's-"**

 **Interrupting Haley, Dean patiently explained, "Anasazi symbols. It's for protection. The Wendigo can't cross over them."**

"Ana- _what_?" Percy asked.

"Anasazi, Percy," Annabeth sighed, looking more fond than annoyed.

Jason shared Percy's confusion, "And they are…?"

"Ancient Ones," Apollo kindly explained. "That's what they're called. Or Ancestral Puebloans. The Anasazi were thought to be ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians. In present-day they inhabited southeastern Utah, northwestern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, and southwestern Colorado."

Thalia gaped at him for a moment before recalling that Apollo was also the God of Knowledge, and she hastily looked away.

 **Roy laughed from where he stood at the edge of the campsite with his gun over his shoulder.**

" **Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy," Dean called out without taking his eyes off the symbols. Liv however, did, and she glared at him from over her shoulder, "They're usually the first ones to be eaten."**

" **Liv!" Sam chastised her.**

 **Liv scoffed and shot to her feet, "** _ **Whatever**_ **." and without another word, she separated herself from the crowd and sat by her lonesome.**

"Attitude problem. _Check_ ," Hermes held out a hand and lifted a finger.

Apollo quickly caught on and smirked at his mischievous half-brother, "Violent tendencies. _Check_."

"Quick to pick a fight."

"Easily angered."

Hermes now had four fingers on display. "Like father, like daughter, huh?"

Ares growled at them, "One more word out of you punks, and I'll clobber you!"

Apollo and Hermes smirked at him, but after receiving a nasty glare from Hera, they rolled their eyes in unison and put an end to their teasing… or a temporary hiatus.

 **Sam made a beeline toward Liv, and Dean, seeing him, was quick to follow with a grimace. "Sam, don't-"**

" **No. I'm tired of you two keeping secrets from me," Sam snapped, glaring at Dean as they reached Liv and stood on either side of her. "What did you mean by it, Liv? I don't remember you getting attacked by a Wendigo before!"**

 **Liv sucked in a deep breath and hugged her legs closer to her chest, a distant look in her eyes.**

 **The camera zoomed in on her face until only the black pupils of her eyes showed, darkening the screen. It then zoomed out, but this time, the black pupils belonged to the eyes of ten-year-old Liv. It continued zooming out, showing her complexion coated with grime and muck, scratches and bruises littering her body, her clothes grimy and slightly torn, and her wrists chained like Tommy's and Gary's were.**

Aphrodite slapped a hand to her mouth, eyes wide in utmost horror.

"That's not the mine the mortal boys were held captive in," Artemis stated.

An explosive _phzzzz_ interrupted the eerie silence and had nearly everyone jumping in their seats. Turning around, they collectively glared at Dionysus, who decided to conjure and open a can of Diet Coke at that precise moment. He stared back. "What?" he asked innocently.

"You are _impossible_!" Athena hissed, irritated beyond belief.

Dionysus hummed, "Oh, I do try."

 **But she wasn't alone. A young woman in a similarly poor condition with dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes was also bound in chains beside her.**

" **Don't worry, Wendy. My uncle and cousin will come for us. They'll rescue us," little Liv whispered, though she had the utmost confidence in her words.**

"She truly is a remarkable child," Ariadne commented with a sad smile.

"If I were in her place, I'd probably be paralyzed with fear," Katie confessed. The thought of his Katie being in such a dangerous predicament had Travis tightening his arm around her and pulling her closer until she sat on his lap. Smiling, Katie twisted around and pecked his lips.

Connor mimed barfing, to which Rachel promptly smacked him.

Thalia nodded, in awe with Liv's bravery. Even when she was captured by the Cyclops and had Luke and Grover for company, Thalia was terrified to death and had been almost certain that she would be a goner. Her only hope was that seven-year-old Annabeth would make it out alive since she hadn't been captured alongside them.

"That woman is more frightened and she's well over her twenties," Hera agreed with Ariadne, for once not having anything bad to say about a demigod, which was a feat in itself.

Ares swallowed a lump from his throat and stubbornly kept his eyes fixated on the screen.

 **The woman, Wendy, let out a strangled laugh, the sound of her chains rattling together as she tried to free herself, with no luck. "Oh, I wish I could be as brave as you, Olivia." She then looked over at her and scrutinized her with a fond smile, "You remind me of my daughter."**

" **Tell me about her."**

" **Well," Wendy licked her lips, looking pensive for a moment. "My daughter Reena, she just turned six. My husband's in the army, you see, and I'm always frazzled, having three kids to take care of by myself. My twin sons, they're three and a handful," she chuckled. "Always up to mischief. But my Reena? Oh, not her. She's my little helper. She's always helpful around the house with the chores and the boys, especially when my husband's away. Like you, she is always confident that Rick would return home safely."**

Hera gasped, "What a tough situation for the poor mother."

"Great. Now I'm worried about Wendy," Hazel murmured, bright eyes fixated on the screen.

Frank hugged her closer to him, "I'm sure she'll make it out, Hazel."

"I loathe to think about the state of her children, what with Wendy being held captive by the beast!" Artemis hissed, contempt palpable in her face. Her fingers itched to pick up her bow and slay the beast.

" **I don't remember my mother," Liv confided. "I was only six-months-old when she died. And I never met my dad."**

Hecate nodded; Olivia proved her previous suspicions to be correct. For some confounding reason, the fact that Sam and Olivia were six-months-old when their respective mothers were killed must be an important factor, linking them together in some way.

"Six months? But surely-… she didn't look older than four," Aphrodite gasped, confused.

Ares growled, "I told you she was a runt. She's too scrawny to be a child of mine."

"Ares! That's enough," Hera snapped.

Poseidon glowered at his nephew, "She obviously grew out of it, Ares. Like Apollo said earlier, the girl is sixteen years of age and we all believed her to be much older."

 **Wendy looked sympathetic, but just as her lips parted, a chilling growl echoed in the cave and a tall and skinny silhouette could be seen approaching them.**

 **In the blink of an eye, the scene returned to the present. Slowly, Liv stood up, brushed the backside of her jeans and turned to meet Sam's stubborn gaze, "I wasn't just attacked by a Wendigo, Sam. I was** _ **taken**_ **by one around six years ago."**

 **Sam frowned as though he were trying to remember the incident, but came up blank. "Where was I when this happened?!"**

 **Liv stared at him impassively, and in a cold voice, said, "You** _ **ran off**_ **, remember. Two weeks in Flagstaff. When I had a fever? Uncle John had a salt and burn case, and he left Dean to watch us. You took advantage of the fact that I was sick to sneak out when Dean had his hands full with me. Ring any bells,** _ **Sammy-boy**_ **?" she sneered.**

 **Sam looked away, his face clouded with guilt.**

Percy glared at Sam; he stood by his initial judgment of the guy. He didn't like him. If he had an abusive household then he would think differently. But Sam Winchester had a loving older brother and a baby cousin who must've looked up to him; and by the looks of things, a father that provided for him, which gave him no excuse.

"Why would the boy run from his family?" Amphitrite rhetorically asked, sullen at the very idea.

"Ungrateful brat," Hera sneered.

 **Dean took over for Liv, "While Dad and I started looking for you, we came across a string of suspicious disappearances in Minnesota. We rented a cabin for our stay until we killed the Wendigo. Obviously, we couldn't take Liv with us, and the S.O.B.-**

"S.O.B.?" Ariadne inquired.

"Son of a bitch," Clarisse, the Stolls, Percy and Jason simultaneously informed her.

Hermes, Poseidon and Zeus stared at their sons, displeased over the fact that they knew such a derogatory word. Ares on the other hand, grinned at his daughter, prompting Aphrodite to smack him across the head, his grin turning into a scowl.

 **-took advantage of that. It took us two days and three nights to find her and kill the bastard, but by then-" Dean grimaced, "-we were too late-"**

"They killed it?" Katie looked confused.

"The monster portably reformed," Annabeth readily told her.

Hades shook his head in disagreement, "This monster is not Greek or Roman. Its origins are completely unheard of. I am inclined to believe that they do not reform, nor do they reach Tartarus once killed."

"There must be many of its kind," Hecate added, having come to the same conclusion as her dear friend and ally. "And once they are killed, they either disintegrate into oblivion- into nothingness, _or_ they move on to another place, one we have yet to hear about."

Nobody could refute the conclusions the Lord of the Dead and the Underworld, and the Goddess of Magic, Sorcery, Witchcraft and Necromancy reached to; arguing with them would be a laughable matter.

" **I don't want to talk about it anymore," Liv cut in, hands shaking violently.**

 **Sam looked furious, "Why wasn't I told any of this?" when he was met with a stubborn silence, he shook his head and changed the subject, "Fine.** _ **For now**_ **I'll leave it be. But there's something else I wanted to talk about. Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?"**

"Oh, that's good," Apollo sighed; he really had developed a soft spot for the Winchester family.

 **Dean nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. Tell you the truth, I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."**

" **Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road. Go find Dad. I mean, why are we still even here?" Sam snapped, looking honestly surprised.**

 **Ticked off, Liv snarled and shoved Sam backward. "You are such a selfish brat, Sam Winchester! I can give you a dozen reasons why! Tommy, for one. His friends. The future victims of the Wendigo! Need I go on? How about the fact that** _ **this**_ **, this is what we do!** _ **We save lives**_ **. You seem to have lost your morals when you left for an apple-pie life. You** _ **disgust**_ **me!" she shoved him harshly with her shoulder and stormed away, joining Haley and Ben by the campfire.**

"Well, I couldn't have said it better myself," Percy commented; he was surprisingly ending up to be a huge fan of a child of Ares. He respected Clarisse, and had grown used to their frenemy relationship, but he was started to respect Liv more. She was a selfless and heroic demigod and he found himself wishing that Ares sent somebody to lead her to Camp Half-Blood… he would have preferred having her as a role model to look up to instead of Luke, maybe then Luke's betrayal wouldn't have stung.

Unbeknownst to them, Clarisse and Percy were having similar thoughts.

Zeus shocked everyone with his next words, "I am having a hard time comprehending your opinion about this outstanding young demigod, Ares. She is a selfless, brave and refreshingly opinionated girl."

"I have died and gone to heaven," Jason joked, at the same time Thalia breathed out, "Pinch me."

Thalia's request was followed by a sting of pain, to which she threw a pillow at Percy's face, "I didn't mean _literally_!"

" **Can you explain to me** _ **why**_ **Liv's chosen me to be her punching bag?" Sam grumbled, kicking his shoe into the dirt.**

 **Dean stared intensely into Sam's eyes before he shook his head in a 'you're an idiot' sort of way. "Figure it out yourself, Sam." Dean then held up John's journal, "This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession – everything he knows about every evil thing is here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business."**

"Sounds like a cool motto," Apollo said, repeating them over in his head as he tried to fabricate a poem out of the words.

Artemis's expression softened as she stared at Dean and mulled over his inspirational words, "I am beginning to understand what they meant when they previously spoke of 'hunting'. This family have trained themselves and dedicated their lives to protecting mortals from monsters. They are exceptional mortals, and they have my blessing."

"But there's three men," Hermes pointed out, shock and amusement warring against each other.

"There have been exceptions every few millennia," Artemis reminded him and Apollo's face contorted into anger at the reminder of Orion.

Poseidon contemplated Dean for a moment, "So, we are in agreement then? These Winchesters are a family of clear sighted mortals."

"I believe so," Hecate affirmed, sounding incredulous. "Rare it may be, it has never been proven to be impossible."

 **Sam took a step back, his head shaking rapidly, "Dean…no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about."**

 **Dean looked disappointed, though unsurprised. "And that's why Liv keeps picking fights with you. Why she's…** _ **furious**_ **with you. But hey-" he held a hand up, "-that's for you to figure out. But I'll tell you this. You gotta prepare yourself, I mean, this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man."**

"He's a very wise young man," Hestia smiled fondly.

Athena sniffed and grudgingly nodded, "Surprisingly, he is. His first impression didn't do him justice however."

 **Sam looked down, shoulders shaking with the intensity of his breathing before he looked up at Dean, "How do you do it? You and Liv and Dad?"**

 **Dean looked over at the campsite, the shot focusing on Haley, Ben, and lastly Liv, who was analyzing the Anasazi symbols. "Well for one, them. I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable."**

"What a dreary outlook on their lives," Rachel grimaced.

Hades shook his head at Dean's words; that family would never see the inside of Punishment.

" **I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can," Dean grinned, prompting a smile out of Sam.**

"A man after my own heart. I never thought such men existed," Artemis said, surprise and disbelief coloring her words.

Dionysus dropped his magazine and Hephaestus' screwdriver clattered onto the floor, both of them, Apollo, Hermes, and Ares gaping at her as though she were speaking in gibberish, or announced that she no longer wished to be a Virgin Goddess.

 **A twig snapped.**

 **A voice called out, "Help me! Please!"**

 **Liv rushed over to Sam and Dean's side, her expression one of fierce determination.**

" **Help!"**

 **Sam turned on his flashlight in search for the owner. Dean curled a hand around Liv's arm and snarled, "He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put."**

"Didn't Dean state guns were useless against this creature?" Poseidon inquired.

"Celestial Bronze maybe?" Percy asked.

Jason immediately piped up, "Or Imperial Gold."

Nico rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "Am I supposed to say Stygian Iron? This isn't a Greek or Roman monster. Chances are they won't work against it."

"Fire will," Piper stated, overconfident in her theory.

Thalia rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, it killed the fictional Wendigo in your fictional show?"

Piper retorted by sticking her tongue out, "A drachma says I'm right."

"Oh bring it on, Beauty Queen. But let's up the stakes. _Three_ drachmas."

"Deal, Captain of the Virgin Squad."

The gods stared at them, perplexed. What shocked them was the name calling: they sounded more like pet names than insults.

Hestia grinned, "Well then. Shall we proceed?"

" **Inside the magic circle?" Roy scoffed cynically.**

 **Surprisingly, Liv didn't rise to the bait as the voice continued to cry for help, the desperate pleas immediately followed by the chilling growl that seemed familiar to Liv as her face drained of all color.**

 **Roy hastened to point his gun toward the direction the growl came from. "Okay, that's no grizzly," he concurred.**

 **Haley pushed Ben behind her, "It's okay. You'll be all right, I promise."**

 **A fast blur rushed past Haley and she shrieked in alarm.**

Piper, Katie and Rachel let out a shriek of their own at the sudden movement. They had yet to see the Wendigo and something told them it looked as grotesque as it sounded. They were in absolutely _no_ rush to find out.

" **It's here," Sam announced.**

" **Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious," Liv snapped, though she sounded more terrified than ever before. Instead of glaring at her, Sam looked worried.**

"Judging by the look on Sam's face, Olivia isn't one to show fear so easily," Aphrodite said, her voice sounding sympathetic.

Ares disagreed. The first and _last_ time he laid eyes on his daughter, she was sniveling like a newborn. But just as suddenly as the thought entered his mind, a pang hit his heart as he recalled something else… something important that filled him with dread.

 **Roy shot twice at the blur. "I hit it!" he yelled. He ran over to get a good look at it.**

" **No!" Liv yelled in alarm.**

" **Roy!** _ **Roy**_ **!" Dean shouted. He then turned to Haley and Ben, "Don't move."**

 **Haley was holding a stick, one end of it bearing a ball of fire, and she was brandishing it around as a weapon.**

"Another brave girl," Artemis proudly announced, shooting Ares a quick glare.

She always got sucked into arguments with Ares regarding their contradicting perspectives on women; Ares strongly believed that mortal and demigod women were weaklings which constantly grated on Artemis' nerves and when she would refute his statement by claiming that she had demigods and mortals join her Hunters, Ares would retort that Artemis granted them immortality and extra abilities which didn't count.

 **Without hesitation, the Winchesters chased after Roy.**

" _Fool_!" Zeus, Poseidon and Hades hissed.

Persephone shook her head, "They told him not to leave the protection of the symbols."

 **Too quick to make out an image, a figure reached down from the tree and snapped Roy's neck, the sickening crack echoing in the night air.**

Gasps reverberated in the throne room.

The girls and a few goddesses recoiled at the nauseating sound of a neck being snapped.

Ares growled, "Now that's not fair. It's not a real battle unless both sides are given a fighting chance."

"For once, I am in agreement with Ares," Athena appeared to be more disgusted over the fact she agreed with _Ares_ of all people- or, ah, _gods_ , than Roy's death.

"When fighting for your life, all fairness gets thrown out the window," Percy grimaced, and to Poseidon's dismay, he sounded as though he were speaking from personal experience.

Artemis was more determined than ever to track down and kill that abomination.

" **Roy!" Dean and Liv shouted in unison.**

 **Sam shined the flashlight around the area, then directly into the camera before the screen turned black.**

"I shudder to think what the creature is doing with the mortal's body," Amphitrite said, her face slightly green and she gratefully sunk into Poseidon's opened arms.

Aphrodite made a sound of disgust and sarcastically addressed the Queen of the Sea, "Thank you for the reminder, Amphitrite. I really needed it."

 **Sam was sitting against a hollow tree stump holding John's journal while absently playing with the lanyard attached to it. Liv was pacing nearby, staring up at the bright heavens, and Dean was with Haley and Ben among the tents.**

Piper shuddered, "I for one wouldn't have been able to sleep after all the excitement of last night."

Rachel bobbed her head in agreement, an expression akin to awe on her face, "Same here. With that monster out and about, I wouldn't be able to sleep a wink."

"You're forgetting about the Anasazi symbols they carved on the ground. The Wendigo can't pass through them," Annabeth reminded them as she traced random patterns on the inside of Percy's palm.

Katie buried herself deeper into Travis' arms, "Even so. I'd never be able to relax with that monster out there, with or without the protective barrier."

 **The shot then focused on a nervous Haley. "I don't…I mean, these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real."**

"Welcome to our world," the Stolls murmured.

"Every single demigod has similar thoughts when we first find out about our other parent," Will mentioned with a smile.

Grover chuckled to himself as he recalled Percy's memorable reaction and constant denials regarding the existence of gods while playing pinochle with Mr. D and Chiron.

 **Dean let out a sigh as though he were used to such reactions, "I wish I could tell you different."**

" **How do we know that it's not out there watching us?" Haley asked, eyes flickering nervously at their surroundings. Dean shrugged, and honestly said, "We don't. But we're safe for now."**

 **Haley then looked at Liv as she approached them and plumped onto the ground next to Dean. "How do you know this stuff?"**

 **There was a short pause as Dean met Liv's gaze, considering his answer. He finally said, "Kind of runs in the family."**

"I wonder how one inherits such a heavy burden," Hecate mused aloud.

" **We have to prepare ourselves," Liv suddenly spoke, her expression solemn. "The Wendigo is gonna come after us. It definitely picked up our scent. It'll probably stalk us now as its daytime and then attack at night. So we got to get a move on."**

 **Haley's gaze bore into Liv's, "You sound very certain."**

 **Liv hesitated for a moment as she scrutinized Haley and Ben. "I am. Let's just say I was in your brother's exact shoe once, and Dean was in yours."**

A bitter snort emanated from Percy's lips and his hand tightened in Annabeth's, "Her abduction makes mine seem like a walk in the park."

"Same," Jason agreed, his smile sour.

"WHAT?" Poseidon and Zeus shouted, concern heavy on their handsome features and both their grips tightening around their respective weapon of power.

Percy's eyes widened, adopting a deer caught in the headlights expression, "Did uh, did we say that out loud?"

"Yes you did young man," Amphitrite said brusquely. Unlike her son, the Queen of the Sea had yet to form an opinion regarding her husband's illegitimate son. She didn't want to judge him hastily, yet a part of her desired to instantly hate him, for he was a harsh reminder and the product of not only Poseidon's affair, but the genuine love he felt for that mortal woman.

Jason scratched the nape of his neck, "Er, maybe late-"

"How many times must you repeat those irksome words?" Athena snapped, a sneer forming on her lips. "You constantly mention incidents that shall occur in the future, and yet, you clam up once we demand for details."

Thalia ruffled her spiky locks and sighed, "It's not that we _don't want to_ tell you. It's that we don't know what would fall under the concept of 'too much information.' We _will_ tell you eventually, we just need to discuss _how_."

Slightly mollified, Athena curtly nodded. Poseidon and Zeus however, were not.

"At least let us know _who_ abducted you…" Poseidon trailed off, hopefully.

Percy and Jason shook their heads apologetically, prompting everyone to revert their attention toward the screen… all but three. Hades noted with surmounting intrigue that the daughters of Athena and Zeus were glaring daggers at Hera.

' _Surely not,_ ' Hades thought to himself. He could understand his sister's motives for abducting Zeus' child, for Hera had a notorious history for punishing his many lovers and children; but Jackson? Hera never once cared about Poseidon's affairs.

 **Haley and Ben gaped at her in shock, but before they could say a word, Sam joined them, the journal opened to a particular page.**

" **So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch," Sam said**

 **Dean smirked, "Well, hell, you know I'm in."**

 **Liv nodded in agreement, her expression fierce.**

 **Sam handed the journal to Haley and Ben, the page explaining the Wendigo in detail.**

"' **Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word," Sam explained. "It means 'evil that devours'."**

"Evil that devours?" Rachel mumbled to herself.

Artemis looked like she was about to fall off her throne as she leaned forward onto the edge of her seat, her curiosity waxed. Finally they were about to shed some light on this mystifying beast she yearned to abolish.

" **They're hundreds of years old.**

"That's impossible!" Artemis hissed, but she appeared to be more in shock than in denial. "If they existed for so long, how have I never encountered one before?!"

Hermes grimaced, "I have a feeling that we are about to discover more entities we never knew existed."

"Like the fact a ghost appeared without the need of a summoner and killed of its own volition, without being ordered to," Hades pointed out grimly.

"It must be another reason why the Fates tasked us with watching these… _episodes_ ," Hecate confidently informed them.

 **Each one was once a man," Dean added with a grimace. "Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter."**

"How interesting," Athena mused, stroking her chin. "This monster was once mortal."

Now, every single individual in the throne room were listening with abated breaths, devouring each and every word.

" **How's a man turn into one of those things?" Haley asked.**

 **This time, Liv took over the explanation, "It's always the same. During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Left with no choice, he becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."**

The demigods, Grover and Rachel turned green.

"Monsters feeding on demigods. Disgusting, but understandable. Human feeding on human? I cannot wrap my head around that," Hazel squeaked, her body wracked with shudders of disgust.

Rachel scowled, "Another reason to add to why cannibalism is _heavily_ frowned upon."

"You mean other than the fact that it's disgusting and inhumane?" Clarisse snapped sarcastically.

Percy let out a humorless laugh, "Becoming a vegetarian like Grover is beginning to sound more appealing right now."

Grover, his eyes wide, nodded frantically, and a few other demigods nodded in agreement to Percy's words.

Demeter however, looked like she was trying to suppress her need to hurl, the accursed shoulder she mistakenly and unknowingly devoured on the forefront of her mind again.

 **Ben looked nauseated, "Like the Donner Party."**

"The Donner Party?" Nico asked, flummoxed.

Annabeth waved her hand in the air and quickly said, "The Donner-Reed Party." The way she said it, was as though that explained everything – 'Subject closed.'

Percy gaped at his girlfriend.

"And how _exactly_ does _that_ answer my question?" Nico asked, disgruntled with the bookworm.

Thalia burst into laughter and between chuckles, said, "It doesn't."

Surprising everyone but Ariadne, Dionysus put the oblivious demigods – which was all of them, excluding Annabeth – out of their misery and offered an _actual_ explanation, his nose still buried in his magazine. "They were a group of settlers traveling west. They were snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846. Caught in the blizzard and desperate to survive, some resorted to cannibalism," he explained offhandedly.

Chris clapped a hand over his mouth, "I'm not really looking forward to lunch anymore."

"Same," the Stolls murmured, looking a sickly shade of green.

Aphrodite scrunched her nose, her gorgeous features contorted in disgust.

 **Sam nodded, picking up where Liv left off, "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality."**

"If that's the case, I'd stick to normal mortality, thanks," Jason groaned, burying his nose in Piper's hair, the heavenly aroma of orange blossoms and jasmine wafting from her hair helping him with his nausea.

" **If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human** _ **thing**_ **. You're always hungry," Dean stated.**

" **So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive," on second thought, Haley glanced at Liv, stunned. "How did** _ **you**_ **survive?"**

 **Liv adopted a pained expression, her eyes distant again.**

 **Dean grimaced, looking at Liv in concern, "You're not gonna like it."**

" **Tell me," Haley demanded, her expression unwavering.**

 **Swallowing harshly, Dean ripped his gaze from Liv and stared at Haley, "More than anything, a Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there."**

Thalia looked sick, "Ugh. And here I thought it couldn't get any worse."

Ares deftly masked his disgust and fury behind a mask of apathy. Irregardless of his feelings regarding _Victoria's daughter_ … the very thought of Olivia hoarded away and preserved as food had him apoplectic with rage.

" **And then how do we stop it?" Haley asked.**

" **Well, guns are useless, so are knives," Dean revealed.**

 **Liv held up a can of lighter fluid, a beer bottle and a white cloth, and with a vicious grin, said, "Basically, we gotta torch the sucker."**

"HAH! Pay up, Thalia!" Piper cheered, grinning from ear to ear as she held a hand out.

Grumbling, Thalia leaned over Jason and dumped three drachmas into Piper's open hand, "I can't believe you were right!"

Apollo smirked, deciding to reveal a few fun facts to the teenagers, "Well…sometimes movie and shows are based on real life. I wouldn't be surprised if the producers, directors or writers of some of the supernatural or thriller movies are demigods."

"Like Shakespeare," Annabeth stated.

Hermes nodded. "If I were to take a guess, I'd say the writer of the show Piper spoke of could've been a hunter of maybe had a source that was a hunter, sort of like the Winchesters."

"It would've been easier if they had a flare gun," Piper said, referring to the Winchesters. "That's how the Halliwell sisters killed the Wendigo in the show."

Ares grunted. "A skilled warrior could make do with what little they have. Improvising is an important skill to have, it could very well save your lives," he advised them.

Athena grudgingly nodded, "Here I must agree with Ares. _Again_."

The teenagers all grinned at Percy; he was, after all, the master at improvising, which saved his life more times than they could count.

 **The camera then showed the group walking through the woods, Dean in the lead with a Molotov cocktail in hand. The shot focused on the trees as they walked past, showing the bloody claw marks.**

 **The scene appeared to have forwarded, as the sky was a few shades darker. Sam was now in the lead.**

" **Dean, Liv?" he called out, the aforementioned two immediately joining his side.**

" **What is it?" Dean asked.**

 **The camera rotated to show their surroundings: there were more bloody claw marks and broken branches everywhere.**

" **You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct," Sam looked at Dean and Liv, a frown on his face. "They were almost too easy to follow."**

"It's a trap!" Ares suddenly growled, recognition dawning on him. "The beast lured the group to him."

Artemis scowled, "I can see what the Winchesters meant when they claimed this beast to be an excellent hunter." Battle plans were already forming in her head; whether it is the will of the Fates or not, Artemis _shall_ hunt down those beasts to their extinction. Throwing a glance at Ares, who was staring at the screen with a mixture of frustration and intrigue, Artemis entertained thoughts of the war god joining her in the Hunt… perhaps he'd like to avenge the suffering his daughter received by its hand? Or perhaps, Ares truly didn't care about Olivia and wanted nothing to do with her. But then again, Ares' bloodlust and thirst for battle was too strong to overpower.

Artemis knew she needed all the help she could get with these dastardly intelligent beasts, and just this once, exceptions could be made regarding accepting a male in her Hunt.

" **It's a trap!" Liv sneered, pivoting around in the blink of an eye.**

"Like father, like daughter," Apollo smirked.

Ares ignored him as the Wendigo's blood-curdling growl echoed in the throne room. He'll deal with that punk later.

 **Sam and Dean followed Liv's example, whipping around in search for the Wendigo. It moved too fast, leaving only the rustling of leaves in its wake.**

 **The shot focused on Haley, who stood under a tree. Drops of blood landed on her shirt; looking up, she quickly leapt out of the way, just as Roy's corpse landed on the very spot she previously stood.**

"Oh, gods," Hazel gasped.

 **Dean crouched down to examine Roy. Grimly, he looked at the others, "His neck's broke."**

 **Sam helped Haley to stand just as the growling intensified in volume, hinting that the Wendigo was nearby.**

" **Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" Dean shouted, pulling Haley alongside him. The group began to run. Ben, who was between Liv and Sam, tripped and fell down, prompting them to help him up.**

"No! The group has been divided now!" Persephone cried out, terrified for their lives.

Dionysus hummed nonchalantly, "They are… What do they say, these days? Do the children say, 'dead meat'? Is that it?"

The gods ignored the wine god's dry humor while the demigods and Rachel glared at him.

 **The camera showed Dean and Haley suddenly halt in their tracks as their path was blocked. The Wendigo stood before them.**

The girls all screamed and the boys recoiled in disgust.

The gods managed to collect themselves, though their expressions varied from horror to disgust and some gaped in morbid fascination as the Wendigo's appearance could be made out, no longer appearing as a blur or a tall and thin silhouette.

 **The Wendigo was humanoid, standing fifteen feet tall. It was emaciated, the bones visible under its pallid skin. Its eyes were glowing and owl-like, and its crooked, sharp teeth were bare. Razor-like claws glinted, raised, and worst of all, there were a few chunks of skin and flesh missing.**

 **Haley screamed.**

"What an eyesore!" Leo gaped.

Rachel backed away from the screen, nearly sitting on Connor's lap, "I am never _ever_ going hiking or camping _ever_ again."

Percy's eyes hurt just by staring at the thing, "And here I though the Minotaur was ugly."

"Oh, please, Prissy. Scylla is more attractive than _that_ ," Clarisse retorted, squinting at the Wendigo.

Annabeth made an ' _eek_ ' sound, "I'd rather try my chances with Charybdis again than be around the Wendigo."

The gods were too absorbed in their own private thoughts regarding the ghastly beast, that most didn't hear the demigods' comparison of it to other monsters they had encountered. Ariadne's ears however, perked up upon hearing the name of her half-brother, and she intensely gazed at Percy, "You've fought the Minotaur?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Uhh-"

"You did WHAT?" Poseidon gasped; his son would end up being the death of him!

"It's nothing," Percy was saying, only to be cut off by an incredulous Travis, " _Nothing_!? Dude. The first monster that came after you was _the Minotaur_! And you ripped its horn out with your bare hands and used it as a weapon to kill it. You didn't even have proper training. It's not ' _nothing_ '."

Poseidon's face had drained of all its color.

"Actually," Grover put in, "The Minotaur wasn't Percy's first. It was a Kindly One."

There were gasps of "what", "I didn't know _that_ ", "why didn't you tell us", and praises from the demigods. Percy turned beet red and he ducked his head.

Dionysus was staring at the son of Poseidon in shocked disbelief, not having expected a demigod to be humble and shy away from attention. Triton was having similar thoughts; all his father's bastard children were arrogant, insufferable brats, and yet, his father's latest child was too modest.

"A-" Poseidon looked faint as he turned to face his stunned brother. "HADES! You sent a Fury after my son?!"

Hades snapped out of his stupor to meet his brother's furious sea-green eyes. "Now why do you automatically assume _I_ had anything to do with it?" he drawled.

"Oh, please," Demeter sneered. " _Everybody_ knows that the Furies exclusively serve you. They are your grand torturers and take orders from nobody _but_ you. Who else would send one after the boy?"

"Maybe if Poseidon didn't break the oath, I wouldn't have taken action against his spawn!" Hades retorted acidly.

"Look, you guys, this happened _years_ ago. I'm over it," Percy shouted before his father's trident could impact with Hades. "It's all water under the bridge. Besides, I got used to the gods trying to kill me. That's old news." He spoke in such a nonchalant manner, that he managed to render every single god speechless. On the contrary, his friends all burst into laughter, too used to Percy pissing off the gods and treating them like they were buddies instead of all-powerful beings that could smite him in a nanosecond.

Annabeth fondly kissed his cheek, "Only you, Seaweed Brain. Only you."

Calmer than before, Poseidon sat back down on his throne and hissed at Hades, "We will finish this later. And as for you, Percy," he turned his gaze to his son, "You _will_ be giving me a list of names regarding the gods that made an attempt on your life."

"That'll take all month," Thalia laughed.

Poseidon groaned into his hands.

" **Haley?" Ben hysterically called out.**

 **Sam and Liv stopped running. The shot homed in on the Molotov cocktail that had been in Dean's possession, that was now broken. Sam picked it up with shaky hands as Liv screamed for Dean at the top of her lungs.**

"It took Dean!" Aphrodite said in despair; the Goddess of Love had taken quite a shine to the Winchester family and she couldn't bear the thought of any more tragedy occurring in their lives.

Artemis glared at her, " _And_ Haley!"

"Yes, yes, whatever. I am more concerned for Dean," Aphrodite absently waved a hand at the virgin goddess.

"Why am I not surprised?" Athena sneered.

 **There was still daylight and Sam, Liv and Ben were trudging through the forest.**

" **If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" Ben inquired.**

 **The shot focused on Liv again as Sam responded, "Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off." The scene darkened, flashing back to the ten-year-old Liv still stuck in the cave, continuing where it left off when a growl interrupted her conversation with Wendy.**

 **The Wendigo growled until it stood before its two chained up victims, leaning toward Liv who let out a terrified whimper and tried to back away from it in her chained state.**

Startled gasps reverberated in the throne room.

"Oh no," Ariadne cried. Dionysus banished his wine magazine in order to offer his wife comfort.

Ares's olive complexion was stark white as his flaming red orbs glowered at the Wendigo.

" **Hey!" Wendy screamed, thrashing wildly as the Wendigo's clawed hand gripped Liv's chin to hold her in place. "You don't want her! She barely has any flesh on her! Take me instead.** _ **Hey**_ **!" Desperate to capture its attention, Wendy struck the creature with her leg, kicking it hard.**

 **The Wendigo let out a deafening growl, its glowing eyes piercing Wendy and as it approached her, the young mother looked defeating, as though she had accepted her fate. The Wendigo struck.**

 **The shot remained focused on Liv. "NO! WENDY NO! LEAVE HER ALONE! WENDYYYY!" Liv screamed hysterically, the metal clanging loudly as she tried to release herself from her chains. Wendy's pained screams meshed with Liv's desperate pleas and the sickening sound of teeth ripping through flesh echoed in the cave, blood splattering onto Liv's face and clothes.**

A strained silence ensued in the throne room, only broken by Jason a small pause later, "Piper, look at me, look at me. Hey, hey, hey. Breathe in and out, in and out."

"What's wrong with her?" Aphrodite asked in concern, tears unconsciously streaming down her face.

"Is there a bathroom?" Connor asked, holding a clammy Rachel in his arms.

Apollo's face dawned with recognition and he immediately got off his throne. He healed Rachel and Piper before they could hurl, and then asked, "Anyone else about to throw up?"

Hazel timidly raised a hand, not trusting herself to speak.

Smiling kindly at her, Apollo tenderly placed a hand on her forehead, allowing his healing touch to rid her of her nausea.

"Thank you," she sighed gratefully, leaning back into Frank's warm embrace. The sun god smiled at her and returned to his throne.

Hera dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, "The poor woman. She sacrificed her life for Olivia."

"Such bravery and selflessness must be credited," Artemis wept, her silver orbs dimming with misery.

Hestia nodded glumly, "I pity her children."

Zeus cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the morose ambience. "They still have a father," he reminded them, hoping to alleviate the melancholic mood.

…It did not.

After five more minutes, the females in the room collected themselves and returned their attention to the screen.

" **Liv?" Sam's voice snapped Liv from her reverie and she abruptly turned to face him.**

" **I'm sorry, what?"**

 **Sam's chocolate orbs shone with concern. "I said, why didn't you tell me."**

 **Sucking in a deep breath, Liv met his gaze, her dark orbs burning with a certain fire, "You really want to know?" Sam nodded. Ben walked a few steps ahead to give them privacy. "After two weeks, when you came back, Uncle John and Dean wanted to tell you, but I pleaded with them not to, and they respected my decision."**

" **I would've wanted to know, Liv," Sam snapped, frustrated. "You're my baby cousin. If I knew, I would have been there for you-"**

" **And that's exactly** _ **why**_ **I didn't want you to know," Liv interjected, stepping over a thick log. "For as long as I can remember, Sam, you've always wanted an out. You ran away because you wanted a break from all the hunting. I just, I didn't want to be a burden on you. I knew you'd feel obligated to stick around and who knows, maybe you'd end up resenting me for it."**

 **Sam scowled at her, "I wouldn't have resented you, Olivia!"**

"She's quite sharp for a ten-year-old, don't you think?" Athena mused, a touch of disbelief in her tone.

Persephone sneered, "Oh, I forgot, only your children could be wise and intelligent, is _that_ what you're implying?!"

"Of course not!"

"Then why do you sound so surprised?" Aphrodite retorted, backing up Persephone.

Athena huffed, her cheeks flushed in anger, "I am merely making an observation!"

"Wow, and here I thought Athena's only rival was my Dad," Percy murmured in Annabeth's ear.

Disturbed at the hostile attacks against her mother, Annabeth hissed, "They're all jealous of my mother. I mean, they all have to bow down to wisdom, so it makes sense."

Discomfited by his girlfriend's arrogant response and the backhanded insult it posed, Percy looked away, especially when he noticed their friends glaring at Annabeth in affront.

 **Before any more words could be traded, Ben gained their attention, "They went this way!" He was crouched over a trail of M &Ms and picked one up.**

" **Genius Dean!" Liv laughed. Sam was laughing too, his expression brighter and he playfully nudged Liv, "It's better than breadcrumbs."**

"I don't think I could've improvised like that under pressure," Jason whistled, impressed by Dean's ingenuity.

"A strategy worthy of Athena," Annabeth proudly exclaimed, irritating her friends once more.

Athena haughtily straightened her posture and beamed at her daughter.

"But Athena," Aphrodite sardonically uttered, "Dean _isn't_ a child of yours."

Athena glared at her and then Persephone, who had failed to stifle her laughter.

"That's enough you three," Hestia calmly rebuked them.

 **The three of them started to follow the trail until it ended before a mine entrance marked with a sign: WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT ENTER EXTREMELY TOXIC MATERIAL.**

"The perfect den for a Wendigo," Clarisse commented.

 **Sam looked at Ben, who shrugged, then at Liv, who had paled considerably.**

" **Liv, if you want to sit this one out-"**

" **No!" she firmly interjected. "I'm doing this. I'm going in." and not giving herself an opportunity to chicken out, she stormed inside, ignoring the larger KEEP OUT NO ADMITTANCE sign that hung overhead.**

"Remarkable," Ariadne smiled proudly.

Apollo smiled softly, "The fact that she admits to being afraid, but is finding a way to conquer her fears proves just how brave she is."

"Yes. The only way to eliminate your fears is to face it and triumph over it, otherwise it will continue to have power over you," Poseidon stated.

Athena had to bite her lip to keep herself from making a snarky comment.

Thalia shuddered; she didn't think she could _ever_ conquer her fear of heights.

 **The scene flashed back to the past. A few rays of sunlight could be seen invading the cave through a few cracks. Liv, her grimy face and clothes now streaked with congealed crimson, was still chained to the ceiling. Her eyes were vacant, unblinkingly staring down at something.**

 **Suddenly, rushed footsteps could be heard. "Liv! Olivia?!" and a second later, Dean, his face heavy with relief, ran over to her. "Oh, thank God! I'm going to get you out of here."**

There were many sighs of relief.

"Obviously she made it out alive. But seeing it makes a big difference," Rachel said, looking a lot healthier after Apollo worked his healing magic on her.

 **Dean cut her down and held her tightly in his arms, "Dad's killing it. You're safe now, what's-" Dean seemed to have realized Liv was as stiff as a board and pulled away to gauge her reaction. He cut himself off when he followed her line of vision.**

 **The camera didn't reveal anything but Dean's eyes widened in horror, forcibly turning Liv away, "Don't look, Liv-"**

" **Her name was Wendy," she finally spoke, her voice hoarse and thick with tears. "She has three kids. Reena just turned six, and twin boys. They're three-years-old. Her husband's in the army and, and-, the monster was going to eat me, but, but she sacrificed herself for me, Dean-" she broke off into hysterical tears.**

 **Dean looked pained, and he closed his eyes in grief. He lifted Liv off the ground and carried her out, "We'll make sure they find her body. I promise."**

Amphitrite nodded, her expression saddened, "How honorable of them."

 **Back in the present, Sam had his flashlight out, when all of a sudden, he turned it off and pulled Ben and Liv flat against the wall. The Wendigo looked as though he was approaching them until he took an abrupt turn and took a different tunnel. Breathing in relief, the three of them moved onwards.**

 **The floorboard creaked and they fell through the floor, landing on a pile of bones.**

"That's nasty," Katie felt squeamish.

Chris looked horrified, "How many people did it kill?!"

"By adulthood, a human body consists of 206 bones, young man. The number of casualties may be low," Athena promptly lectured, eliciting many eyes to roll aggressively in their sockets.

"Er, right. Thanks," Chris said awkwardly, not wanting to receive the goddess's ire by telling her that his question was rhetorical.

 **Nearby, there was another pile, but of skulls.**

"This is definitely a horror movie," Rachel murmured, clutching Connor's hand for comfort.

 **Ben spotted Haley and leapt backward.**

" **Hey, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay," Sam calmed him down.**

 **Liv looked pained upon seeing Dean and Haley hanging by their wrists from the ceiling.**

"This cannot be healthy for the poor girl. It's evoking all the bad memories she experienced during her captivity," Hera said in sympathy.

" **Dean!" Liv and Sam yelled, shaking him awake. Ben was at Haley's side in an instant, "Haley, wake up!"**

 **Dean opened his eyes and winced.**

 **The camera then showed Sam and Liv cutting Dean and Liv loose from their chains and then helping them over to an empty patch on the floor to sit down. Dean made a few pained noises.**

" **You sure you're all right?" Liv asked, her expression shining with concern. Dean let out a bark of humorless laughter, "This you returning the favor?"**

 **Liv didn't look amused, "Shut up, Dean."**

"It _is_ kind of ironic how their position is in reverse," Leo chuckled dryly. "Six years ago she was taken by the Wendigo and Dean freed her. Now, he's taken and she's getting him out."

Annabeth frowned, "Dean has a dark sense of humor."

"Nothing wrong with that," Frank shrugged.

" **Where is he?" Dean asked.**

" **He's gone for now," Sam reassured him.**

 **Haley stood up and spotted Tommy still hanging and began to cry, "Tommy…" she touched his cheek and his head jerked up.**

"Oh, thanks the gods. He's still alive," Hazel sighed in relief.

"He watched his friend get eaten. That's got to be hard on the poor guy," Grover brayed.

 **Haley turned to the Winchesters and shrieked, "Cut him down!" Once Sam divested him of his chains, she cried, "We're gonna get you home."**

 **Liv stood over their stolen supplies that had been stacked in a corner and picked up a flare gun, "Check it out."**

 **Sam grinned, "Those'll work."**

 **Liv laughed, tossed over a flare gun each to Dean and Sam, and expertly twirled the gun in her hands, "I'm gonna be the one to torch that son of a bitch."**

"Literally killing her demons," Hermes smirked.

Ares leaned forward slightly, not wanting to miss the upcoming action.

 **The group headed down a tunnel, Dean and Liv in the lead and Sam in the rear, all three of them tightly gripping their flare guns. Haley and Ben were in the middle, supporting Tommy, who was limping.**

 **A growl echoed around them.**

"I don't think the Wendigo appreciates his meal running away," Connor nervously joked, unconsciously squeezing Rachel's hand.

" **Look like someone's home for supper," Dean quipped.**

" **We'll never outrun it," Haley said bleakly.**

 **Dean looked back at the others, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"**

"I do hope they know what they're doing," Athena remarked, seemingly not having faith in the Winchesters' capabilities.

"I'm sure they'll have a plan worthy of Athena," Clarisse said, her sarcasm going unnoticed by Annabeth and Athena.

Ares smirked proudly.

 **Liv adopted a solemn persona, "Here's what gonna happen. You three stick with Sam. He's gonna get you out of here and cover your back."**

" **What about you and Dean?" Haley asked.**

 **Dean merely winked at her, grabbed Liv by the hand and started walking forward.**

" **Chow time, you freaky bastard!" Dean yelled. "Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby, I taste** _ **good**_ **!"**

"Is he suicidal?!" Piper screeched.

"Nah," Ares smirked, enjoying the show and fully supporting their plan. "He's baiting it, trying to goad the beast to attack."

Percy stifled a smile, recalling the time he did exactly that to Ares. He didn't think the god of war would appreciate the strategy if he knew it had been used against him once.

 **The rest of Dean's words couldn't be made out and the shot showed Liv separating from Dean, flare gun at the ready, before it alternated back to Sam and the three siblings. "All right, come on.** _ **Hurry**_ **!"**

 **They followed Sam out of the tunnel.**

 **Back in the mine, Liv could be heard yelling, "White meat, bitch come and get it!"**

 **Alternating back to Sam, the Wendigo growled nearby. Sam pointed the gun at its direction, lowered it and then demanded the siblings leave.**

" **Sam, no!" Haley didn't want to leave him.**

" **Go!** _ **Go**_ **! Go!" he exclaimed. Ben tugged a reluctant Haley along and they bolted, supporting Tommy along the mine tunnel.**

"The girl possesses a remarkable sense of loyalty as well," Athena remarked.

"Understandable," Ariadne uttered. "The Winchesters _are_ risking their lives to save them."

 **Sam looked down the tunnel and gripped the flare gun ready to shoot. "Come on. Come on," he murmured. The growling grew louder; he turned around and found the Wendigo right in front of him.**

Piper, Rachel, Annabeth, Katie and Hazel screamed, startled by its sudden appearance.

 **Sam shot at it, but missed, he then ran after the siblings.**

" **Sam!" Haley called after him.**

" **Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry," he ushered them and they continued running until they reached the end of the tunnel. The camera showed the Wendigo right behind them.**

"The beast is persistent," Artemis remarked. Every bone in her body itched to slay the beast; it was not in her nature to allow such abominations to endure.

"Just kill it already!" Ares growled impatiently.

" **Get behind me," Sam ordered; he was enough to hide the siblings.**

Leo gaped at Sam in awe, "He's like Bigfoot."

Percy laughed, "He is freakishly tall. He would get accepted into the NBA just because of his height, I swear."

 **The Wendigo was obviously tormenting them as it took its time to approach them. From the left, Dean appeared, "Hey!" and he purposely took aim at the wall, distracting the Wendigo right in time for Liv to appear at its right.**

" **Hey asshole!" she sneered. Her expression was fierce, and her eyes flashed with hatred. "Lights out, motherfucker!" and without further ado, she shot at its stomach. The flare went off and the Wendigo screeched as it combusted into flames.**

Every stared at the screen, awe-struck.

"That's wicked!" Leo fanboyed, his entire form twitching in idolization. "Liv is _awesome_! Did you see that?! That was so COOL!"

Jason patted his shoulder, "Tone it down, McShizzle."

"I have to admit, it was very impressive," Poseidon beamed. Zeus and Hades nodded in agreement.

Ares felt a spark of pride light up inside of him, but he quickly stomped on it, forcibly pushing the sentiment away.

"It's so weird though," Percy spoke up, his voice also heavy with admiration. "I'm so used to monsters exploding into golden dust."

Clarisse nodded, "I was thinking the same thing, Prissy."

 **Dean beamed proudly at Liv, "Not bad, cuz."**

 **Sam grinned and Liv smiled.**

"Not bad? That was awesome!" Leo repeated in adoration.

Piper and Hazel rolled their eyes fondly at the son of Hephaestus.

 **It was nighttime; the scene showed the Ranger Station and Tommy was being loaded into an ambulance. Two police officers were interviewing Ben, Sam behind him.**

" **And the bear came back again after you yelled at it?" one of the officers inquired.**

" **That's when it circled the campsite," Ben said. "I mean, this grizzly must have weighed eight hundred, nine hundred pounds."**

 **Sam nodded, supporting Ben's statement.**

Hecate sighed, "It makes sense. The mortals would lock them up in a mental institute if they uttered the truth. And apparently, my Mist does not work on non-Grecian or Roman incidents."

 **The officer nodded, "All right, we'll go after it first thing."**

"Don't bother," Travis smirked.

"It's already gone," Connor concluded, high-fiving his brother.

Rachel and Katie rolled their eyes at them.

Hermes smiled fondly at his sons, greatly enjoying their antics.

 **The shot then focused on Haley and Dean, both of them already patched up.**

" **So I don't know how to thank you," Haley said, smiling when Dean responded with a lascivious smirk. "Must you cheapen the moment?" she sighed.**

" _Men_ ," Artemis bitterly spat out.

Apollo shook his head at his sister, "These _men_ , sis, risked their lives for three strangers."

"And then he had to ruin everything by adopting a less than chivalrous behavior," she snapped back.

"I don't know why your feathers are ruffled, the girl seems more amused than insulted," Apollo pointed out.

Artemis glowered from Apollo to the frozen image of Haley smiling and then back to her irritating brother, "That's because she doesn't know any better. Women this age are more susceptible to men's deception. They are more gullible."

"Uh, I take offense to that," Piper snapped, not caring about showing disrespect to the goddess. "Just because you've chosen the path of a maiden and have a particular loathing to men, doesn't give you the right to harp on about _our_ life choices."

Clarisse, Katie, Hazel and Annabeth nodded in mutual agreement, looking less than pleased with the virgin goddess, much to Aphrodite's overwhelming joy.

Before Artemis could retort, Hestia smiled at the daughter of Aphrodite, "Well said, Piper. Now, let us finish this up so we can get started on lunch preparations."

 **Dean grinned, "Yeah."**

 **A paramedic came up to Haley, asking if she wanted to ride with her brother, to which she responded with an affirmative. She kissed Dean on the cheek, "I hope you find your father." and headed toward the ambulance with Ben.**

 **Liv sat on the hood of the Impala in a lotus position as Dean and Sam approached her.**

" **I'm proud of you, Liv. You set a new definition for conquering fears," Dean grinned, embracing her.**

 **Liv beamed, resting her head on Sam's shoulder, "I feel tons lighter. Like my burden's gone, you know…"**

" **Man, I hate camping," Dean groaned, Sam and Liv voicing their agreement.**

" _Now_ I hate camping," Rachel shivered.

"Ditto," Leo grumbled.

Frank smacked him atop the head, "What are you talking about, Leo!? _You_ can still go camping without worrying about becoming supper. You're a master of pyrokinesis! The Wendigo doesn't stand a chance against you."

Leo blushed at the compliment, "That doesn't mean I want to be anywhere near its ugly mug."

 **The loud blaring of sirens and the ambulance driving away echoed around the Winchesters.**

" **Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?" Dean reassured him.**

 **Liv nodded, "He's alive. I can feel it."**

" **Yeah, I know." Sam suddenly smiled, "But in the meantime? I'm driving."**

 **Laughing, Dean tossed Sam the car keys.**

 **The camera showed the impala driving along the road with the music on and the screen turned black.**

Hestia stood up and smiled benignly at the teenagers, "Come along. Let us adjourn to the dining hall for lunch."

However, right after the words left her mouth, the documentary resumed, halting everyone from getting to their feet.

 **The camera showed the exterior of the dingy cabin from before, and the familiar voices of John and Dean could be heard arguing from inside.**

" **Dad, Liv needs to take it easy! She needs more time."**

" **Look, Dean, I understand that this is traumatizing for Olivia, but we need to get back on the road. I think I've a lead on Sam's whereabouts."**

" **And what about Liv? Look, I wanna find Sam as much as you do, but she needs a break from hunting. The Wendigo did a number on her," Dean snapped.**

"They both make an excellent point," Hera frowned. "As a father, John is worried about Sam and is adamant on finding him. And yet Dean is worried for Olivia's mental health."

Apollo grimaced, "So they're at an impasse then."

 **The camera homed in on the front door of the cabin, where ten-year-old Liv could be seen sitting on the rickety front steps, hugging her tiny legs with her chin resting on her knee, face streaked with tears and eyes bloodshot, overhearing the loud argument from inside.**

"Oh, the poor dear," Ariadne gasped, her own eyes suspiciously wet.

 **John sighed loudly, and his next words sounded weary, "Dean. It's been two days since we got her back. Olivia** _ **cannot**_ **stay in this cabin any longer. You think I haven't noticed that she hasn't slept a wink? That every time she closes her eyes she has nightmares? That she spends all night staring at the front door with a flare gun, terrified? It's not healthy for her to stay here. She's better off on the road! Don't argue with me on this, I know what I'm doing."**

"I concur with John's reasoning. Olivia will not heal in that accursed cabin," Hecate said. "She needs a change of scenery. I am astounded they dallied around longer in that area."

" **And then what?" Dean snapped. "Find Sammy? Continue hunting?!"**

" **Time will heal her wounds, Dean."**

 **Liv shoved a tiny fist into her mouth to muffle her tears as she broke down, tears streaming down her face and a few whimpers echoing in the night. As her muffled tears of hysterics rang out, the shot rotated a short distance away from the dilapidated cabin, portraying a pair of flame-filled eye sockets staring impassively at the broken girl.**

Simultaneously, every head in the room turned to stare at a stiff Ares, collectively stumped.

 **They were soon covered by red-tinted sunglasses and in the blink of an eye, the figure vanished and the screen turned black.**

"That was the first time you ever visited her, wasn't it?" Aphrodite whispered.

Ares merely grunted, stubbornly avoiding the plethora of gazes burning holes at him.

"Hold on," Apollo growled, sounding very unlike his usual buoyant-self, his trademark smile all but gone as he furiously glared at Ares. "You said you checked up on her and found her crying, terrified of her own shadow which cemented your opinion of her as a weakling and _that's why_ you never bothered guiding her to camp. You didn't even _think_ to ask _why_ your daughter was like that in the first place!? She was abducted by a cannibalistic monster, nearly _eaten alive_ and watched her only companion _get_ eaten, a woman who sacrificed herself for Olivia! She was ten-years-old at the time, Ares. She handled it bravely than anyone else would've!"

Ares snarled at the sun god and got onto his feet, a vicious sneer on his face, "What's it to you, _sunshine_?! How I treat my children is _my_ business."

"All Apollo means, dear," Hera prefaced in a soft tone, "is that maybe you judged Olivia too harshly. It's not too late to fix the error you made. Perhaps this too is part of the Fates plan-"

"But I _didn't_ make an error! I stand by my actions. Just because she killed the beast, doesn't make her any less of a runt!" and without another word, the fuming war god departed the throne room and stormed into his temple, leaving behind a tension-filled silence.

After a long pause, Hestia smiled weakly, "Whoever wishes to assist me in preparing the dining hall for lunch, you are welcome to follow." Hera, Demeter and Ariadne immediately accompanied her.

Aphrodite hesitantly approached the children, an effervescent smile on her face that didn't quite hide the misery from her ever-changing eyes, "I will show you to your rooms so you can freshen up, come along dears."

The gods and the children went to freshen up as the four goddesses prepared the dining hall and conjured up a scrumptious buffet.

However, the moment Ares closed the door of his temple behind him the war god heaved everything within reach that stood on a horizontal surface onto the gleaming chrome floor tiles, the shattering sounds mildly soothing his anger and grief. He then proceeded to brutally punch his fists into the wall, denting the ivory marble, each blow interspersed with loud roars, his apathetic mask finally melting away.

 **A/N:** **Victoria Winchester – her celebrity face is: Odette Annable.**

 **Ten-year-old Olivia Winchester – her celebrity face is: Mackenzie Foy.**

 **Is it just me, or does Odette Annable look like a slightly older version of Victoria Justice? I just couldn't think of any other celebrity that could take the role of Olivia's mother, Odette even** _ **looks**_ **like a Winchester. Maybe I'm just seeing what I wanna see, but I can totally see the resemblance!** **Also** **, Mackenzie Foy: she fits the part with her adorableness and her dark hair and eyes.** **Heads-up:** **from ages 7 – 13, Mackenzie Foy will be the celebrity face of Olivia Winchester, and from 14 – onwards, Victoria Justice.**

 **And to those who were wondering, in the flashbacks, since Dean is 10 years older than Olivia, he was 20 (** _ **duh!**_ **– I know, I know, I just stated the obvious), so his celebrity face is still the most gorgeous, sexiest man on earth: Jensen Ackles.**

 **o**

 **I just realized while writing this chapter, that explaining the basics** _ **completely**_ **slipped my mind:-**

 **(1) Leo and Calypso are an item, just like in canon. However, Leo strikes me as a person to get quickly enamored of some hot chick. Don't worry, there won't be a love triangle issue between them, Leo is just looking. So Caleo lovers out there,** _ **chill**_ **! =) (2) The demigods, Rachel and Grover were plucked from the future into the past, six months after the Giant War. The others were… well, somewhere doing their business, but the Seven were at the monthly** _ **Argo II**_ **reunion party – which needs an explanation of its own regarding Leo: in my fic, Leo returned with Festus and Calypso five months after Gaea's death. (3) Apollo: Yes, Zeus stripped him of his powers and divinity, made him mortal and tossed him into a dumpster like he did in canon. However, since this happened six months after Gaea's death, Apollo was at Camp Half-Blood when the demigods, Rachel and Grover were brought into the past. In my fic, Apollo's been there for a week. (4) Last but not least, Will & Nico are not together yet. They are friends, **_**yes**_ **. Nico told Percy and Annabeth of his past crush and that Percy isn't his type anymore,** _ **yes**_ **. Nico is** _ **completely**_ **over Percy,** _ **yes**_ **. But, unfortunately, they aren't an item yet. This is partly because I'm keeping my options open: should Nico be Bi and I have him paired with a girl? Or perhaps he prefers boys only and pair him up with another guy? And partly because if I pair him with Will, I could play on their romance during the episodes.**

 **BTW:** **If any of you want different pairings than in canon, leave a review and I'll see what I can do. No promises though. I'm not saying I'll break the couples up, I'm just leaving my options open. So, lemme know what you think.**

 **o**

 **About Ares … I promise, there is a reason behind his strong negative feelings in regards to Olivia. I'll give you a hint: resentment. But more on that later… I will be including flashbacks of how Victoria and Ares met, and the details of their sordid affair.**

 **Ares is one of my favorite gods, but he's not the type to gush over how adorable Olivia was when she was a baby, or break down into tears in front of everyone upon seeing Victoria's death… at least** _ **not**_ _ **yet**_ **. Ares is a god with many masks, and in this story, I'm gonna work on breaking them and getting him to open up more. I have many surprises in store regarding Ares, but you'll just have to be patient for the unveiling. ;)**

 **If any of you are confused, like how Mary's death by Azazel was explained in the future, Victoria's will be too. Olivia was 6 months old, but she looked** _ **4**_ **months old. Basically, as Ares kept stating,** _ **and**_ **the title of this story: Since Olivia was brought into the world, she always looked too tiny for her age… basically the runt of the litter (that sounds rude, I know). But obviously, she grew out of it as they all mistook the 16-year-old girl to be in her twenties. But more on that later…**

 **Did anyone feel bad for Ares at the end? All his bottled anger has been released…** _ **DUM! DUM! DUMMMM….**_

 **o**

 **To** _ **all**_ **my Lovely,** _ **Lovely**_ **Reviewers,** _ **thank you**_ **for all your wonderful and inspiring comments! 3**

 **To** **Guest** **: Regarding your comment about Apollo & Liv. Ya know, now that you've mentioned it, I can **_**totally**_ **see the chemistry between them… I haven't really gotten ahead to the pairings as she is a full-time hunter so she doesn't have time for romance, but if the story takes on a different direction (depending on my muse and sudden epiphanies) maybe I'll have an interaction outside of the watching the episodes and Apolia, or maybe Apolivia? hmm… it** _ **might**_ **happen, or maybe she'll be paired with someone from Supernatural. It's still too soon to tell.**

 **To** **aliiceroseee** **: Thank you for seeing it my way. Obviously Apollo is a huge favorite of mine, along with Poseidon and Hermes (as I mentioned before), but Ares doesn't have much love or a big fanbase, so I'm glad there are others out there that get where I'm coming from when I say that I** _ **adore**_ **the hotheaded God of War.**

 **To** **honeysmith2222** **: That is a huge compliment, so thank you. I advise you to write, LOL. Maybe a nice Ares fic? Hehe.**

 **To** **suntan140** **: Thank you! I do hope I didn't go OOC when Ares found out Olivia is his daughter. It's still too soon for that, but his reactions will progress as he watches more episodes. As you can see, Aphrodite basically adopted her in her head.**

 **To** **Karen0610** **: It's reviews like yours that inspires me to write more. And if you're interested, since you mentioned it, I'll be updating Tough As Nails next! XD**

 **To** **LadyScatty** **: I** _ **swear**_ **! Your comments always have this habit of making my day and bringing out a stupid smile on my face! I love you for you constant reviews and your enthusiastic words, I basically memorized your name… THAT is how much I adore your comments! LOL! I shed more light on Liv, trying to deviate a bit from canon, and about your Hanna Marin question, I actually** _ **did not**_ **quote her, but your comment reminded me of the time she said that (hilarious!). I hope this chapter was to your liking as well, and I'll try and have my other stories updated soon!**

 **R &R.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended**

 **A/N:** **Olivia Winchester – Victoria Justice.**

 **Chapter 3:**

A solitary figure stood in a wrecked room, his palms flat on the table, shoulders hunched, head bowed and eyes shut. The upper half of his body was arched forward, violently rising and falling in tempo with his harsh breathing.

Flame-filled sockets snapped open and he lifted his head, colliding with his reflection, contemplating as he took in his mirror image. Exactly five seconds later, his large hand balled into a fist and he smashed his reflection, shattering the glass and destroying the vanity in the process. Large shards with wicked points fell to the ground, drowning in the chaotic jumble his rage generated.

Synchronously, the door to the temple swung forward and a stunned gasp echoed loudly in his ears.

" _Ares_ …" The soft, melodious voice of his beloved succeeded in snapping him out of his misery and he tried to regain composure and put on the nonchalant front he had mastered millennia ago. But he should've known hiding his feelings from Aphrodite was a futile attempt.

Lissome arms wrapped his muscular frame from behind, and an angular chin perched on the crook between his neck and shoulders. Looking down with a loud sigh, he could see her dainty, manicured hands interweaved together, caging him in her loving embrace. "Talk to me, darling. You know you can tell me _anything_. I have _never_ nor will I _ever_ judge you. _Talk to me_ ," she pleaded, the desperation to share his grief overwhelming the ruthless and supposedly heartless god.

Ares fluidly sidestepped her plea and his calloused hands reached out to uncage himself, interlacing his fingers with hers. "Why are you here, Aphrodite?"

Sighing in comprehension, Aphrodite obediently responded, although her disapproval at the subject change was heavy in her tone, "I volunteered to escort the children to the guest chambers to freshen up. I thought we could go to the dining hall together, hmm." When her lover remained unmoving and stiff, Aphrodite disentangled one of her hand from Ares' and lightly caressed his musclebound back. The effect her magic fingers had on him was immediate, as his muscles relaxed and a tranquil sigh emanated from his lips. "Talk to me, Ares."

Turning around, Ares allowed their eyes to collide and take in each other's features, his arm curling around her sylphlike waist. "What do you want me to say, Affie?" Ares growled, though not in a menacing way, more like he was furious with himself and the prospect of honesty, for Aphrodite was his Achilles heel, and after many millennia together, lying to her had always been a vain attempt, and vice versa. "That I regret ignoring _her_? That I wish I could take it all back? That I _love her_! Because I _don't_ Aphrodite. If it weren't for the Fates, I would've remained blissfully ignorant of her and she would still be a memory!"

Instead of recoiling at his harsh words or staring at him in horror or disgust, Aphrodite smiled sadly, "But you love Victoria." – Purposely using _present_ tense. When Ares hesitated, his expression contorting into one of indignation, she smoothly continued, "Come now, Ares. We love each other, yes. Zeus loves Hera. Poseidon loves Amphitrite. Hades loves Persephone, and… well, you get my point. But _nevertheless_ , when we take in a mortal lover, while our love for them is nothing in comparison, we _do_ grow fond of them and sometimes, we _do_ love them greatly, otherwise we would never have stuck around long enough to sire a child." When the stubbornness remained etched on his handsome features, the goddess of love rolled her eyes fondly, "Ares dear, I _am_ the goddess of love, you honestly think you can hide matters of the heart from _me_?"

His expression crumbled, a mixture of resignation and irritation gracing his visage, prompting a chuckle out of the goddess. "Yes. Fine. Victoria Winchester captivated me from but the moment I laid eyes on her."

"Yes, her beauty is unparalleled to any other mortal woman. The Winchesters appear to have preternatural genes… in a good way of course," she quickly stated before mumbling to herself, "I wonder if the Winchesters are legacies of mine. Hmm, I'll have to look into that-"

Ares' chuckle cut her off. "I will not deny that her beauty was one of the factors that mesmerized me. But I was initially curious about her for…other reasons," he awkwardly trailed off, not wanting to get into a deep discussion regarding the reasons behind her enthrallment. Aphrodite merely smiled, "She must be special. Tis no easy feat to capture the interest of a god. And you are not _any_ god, my love."

"She was," Ares wistfully concurred before he reassembled his expression into indifference. He offered her his right arm with his elbow bent and with a loving smile at the gentlemanly action he always portrayed to her, she delicately put her hand under his arm and curled her hand back over it, allowing him to escort her out of the destroyed room, "Come, let us join the others."

As they silently promenaded to the dining hall, she mentally sighed. Appeased she may be over the fact that Ares opened up to her regarding his genuine love for the deceased Victoria Winchester, her initial goal had been a failure, her attempt fruitless. She wished to comprehend _why_ her lover disliked his daughter. Olivia was an enchanting girl and had easily won over the affections of nearly every god and Olympian. Why, even Hera, with her innate hatred of demigods – except for the son of Zeus' Roman aspect for some _confounding_ reason – felt a sort of motherly affection toward the girl, and _Zeus_! Zeus who only ever cared for and favored those he fathered, showed a few hints of favoritism. While they were all enchanted by her beauty, they had grown to care for the girl in some way.

And yet… _and yet_ , Ares harbors a deep grudge and such a potent and unhealthy feeling of dislike to his own daughter, his own flesh and blood, the offspring he created with not just any mortal woman, but one he genuinely loved, and _still_ loves. It made absolutely no sense to the love goddess, and she knew she wouldn't be able to let the subject go until she reached to the heart of the matter.

Walking into the dining hall and sitting down to enjoy the mouthwatering banquet Hestia, Hera, Demeter and Ariadne had prepared, Aphrodite's kaleidoscope eyes connected with two individuals: Apollo and Clarisse La Rue. The former gazed at Ares as though he were a particularly difficult puzzle and the latter adamantly avoided her father's presence, her expression dispirited. Her scheming mind plotted her next move as she elegantly consumed her plate of French cheese and succulent green grapes, pausing to sip on her glass of chardonnay in between bites. Nodding to herself, Aphrodite vowed to discuss Ares with Apollo, for she knew the god of truth would have insight to Ares' strange attitude toward Olivia. And Clarisse, on the other hand, well… she may not be her mother, but unlike Hera, Aphrodite never abhorred her lover's mortal offspring and she wished to abolish any negative thoughts the young girl had toward her father.

"Young demigods, is the food to your liking?" Hestia asked kindly, a soft smile gracing her features as she attempted a stab at conversation, unable to handle the stifling silence a moment longer.

In unison, each demigod belted out a litany of complementary words, eliciting even a half-hearted smile out of Hera. Unfortunately, they all dug in and the awkwardness resumed. Hestia sighed sadly, perhaps tomorrow they would open up more. Or perhaps during dinner, the children would feel more comfortable in the gods' presence and all tension would evaporate.

On that gloomy note, the gods and the teenagers consumed their meal in silence and once every plate had been polished clean, with a flick of Hera's wrist, all the leftover food and the dirty cutlery vanished and she clapped her hands together, "You may all go and wash your hands and meet us in the throne room. _Quickly_ now."

Grumbling at the command, the demigods, the satyr and the Oracle obeyed, and only once they were ensconced in the guest chamber and out of earshot, did they all instigate conversation with one another.

"That was intense," Leo whistled, shutting off the tap and drying his hands with an ivory towel. His voice was loud enough for everyone congregated in the communal room to hear and Percy nodded, "I know. It's because we're used to the gods from our time."

Clarisse grunted, burrowing herself in Chris' arms, "Oh shut up, Prissy. Your Dad's been the most welcoming so far compared to our parents." The son of Poseidon sheepishly ducked his head, and his eyes shone with guilt and compassion. "In our time, my Dad respects me. Called me his favorite daughter and preferred me over his sons after… after everything," Clarisse uncomfortably confided, the Titan and Giant War and her slaying the Drakon left unsaid.

"At least now you know _why_ he preferred his sons over his daughters," Rachel mollified her, looking at the bright side and trying to assuage the tension in the room. While Ares was not their favorite god, or even close to one when it came to Percy, it didn't stop them all from being horrified and shocked at Ares' words and his cruel indifference toward Olivia.

Piper nodded and patted Clarisse's arm, "Yeah. And don't forget, he may think that way now, but in the future, you sure showed him." Her wink prompted a hoarse chuckle out of the daughter of Ares and Chris smiled at her in gratitude before he placed a chaste kiss in his girlfriend's hair.

They all wanted to discuss Olivia, but they didn't have ample time and weren't in any rush to make the gods angry; let it be said, the gods weren't a patient bunch.

As they filed out of the chamber, Nico hesitantly spoke up, his eyes haunted, "Hades keeps looking at me. I just know, _I know_ he's gonna take me aside to ask about Bianca."

He swallowed harshly and looked away, not wanting to see the various looks of pity directed at him. While Bianca's death had been reduced to a phantom pain, aided with Hazel's resurrection and having another sibling to fret for and care about, he wasn't looking forward to opening up that can of worms with his cantankerous father and be the recipient of further blame. Yes, in his time, Hades was proud of him and loved him dearly and had _explicitly_ told him that he had earned his respect and brought honor to the House of Hades, Nico knew that. In the beginning however, Hades remarked that he would have preferred Bianca surviving over him and didn't want to reopen that wound with the Hades of 2005.

"I'd say avoid him, but somehow that seems impossible," Jason sympathized with him. "If he pulls you aside, you won't be able to defy him. None of us could if our parents did that," he added as an afterthought as he looked at his fellow friends.

Hazel slipped her hand in Nico's and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry, Nico. I know how you feel. Our father keeps looking at me like I'm some sort of lab rat. How am I supposed to explain that I'm not in Asphodel anymore because _he_ was captured and bound by _you-know-who_ ," she said, subtly referring to Thanatos and Gaea.

"Who, Voldemort?" Leo grinned cheekily.

The others groaned loudly and Jason playfully shoved him, all of them crying out, " _Leo_!"

"So," Poseidon's voice heartily boomed, snapping the teenagers from their camaraderie state and laughter. "You _are_ capable of speech. We did wonder." His eyes were crinkled into a smile, showing that he was simply teasing them.

Unwittingly, absorbed in conversation, the group from the future stepped into the throne room, where all the gods were analyzing them, some with smiles and fond eyes, and some with indifference.

Nervously, Annabeth addressed them, "Uh, how much did you hear?"

"Hephaestus' son's peculiar comment," Athena responded with an arched eyebrow. She sat forward in her throne and scrutinized them, " _Who is_ Voldemort?"

Breaths of relief reverberated against the walls, thankful that they didn't hear Hazel's comment. While no names were mentioned, Hades would instantly comprehend the gist of the matter and would at least decipher Thanatos' unwitting role in Hazel's resurrection.

Katie waved a hand, "This evil villain in the Harry Potter books."

Hera looked as though she had swallowed a lemon. "Yes, well. Enough chinwag. Let us resume these _episodes_ ," she sneered.

Shooting their least favorite goddess subtle glares and two not so subtle ones from Thalia and Annabeth, they congregated themselves on the plushy mattresses on the floor, arranged themselves in a circle and glanced expectantly at the large screen. Once the last person was seated and all eyes were focused on the screen, it automatically continued from where they had left off, the words **Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin** appearing at the bottom of the screen.

 **A young boy who looked to be in his early twenties, was sitting on the kitchen counter eating cereal, and behind him, on the kitchen table reading a newspaper was a man with salt and pepper hair, his slightly weathered features stern as he scanned through the paper. A pretty girl with strawberry blonde hair and dark eyes who appeared to be a few years younger than the boy walked in.**

 **She walked straight to the older man and kissed him on the cheek. "Morning, Daddy," she chirped happily, making her way to the refrigerator.**

 **"** **Morning sweetheart," he responded in kind, looking up from his newspaper to smile at her.**

Rachel groaned, a glum expression on her face, "I don't want to see a scene of happy family. One or all of them are gonna die soon."

Gaping at the Oracle in horror, Katie leaned over Travis and Connor to smack her shoulder half-heartedly, "Why would you say something like that?"

But before Rachel could explain herself, Thalia snorted, "She has a point." And boy did Thalia hate to say that. "The first episode showed that ghost-"

"Not a ghost," Nico mumbled under his breath, though he didn't sound very confidant.

" _That ghost_ -" Thalia enunciated, shooting a peeved glare at the son of Hades for not only the interruption, but his frankly irritating case of denial, "-killed that guy, uh… Troy. And then the second one, the opening scene showed those three boys get taken by the Wendigo, one of which was mauled by it. So, I kinda have to agree with Rach. One of them are gonna probably die soon," she concluded, jutting her chin toward the screen, which had frozen on the girl, the light of the refrigerator illuminating her face.

Demeter wrinkled her nose, "That's a positively dreary thought."

"But a correct assumption," Apollo pointed out.

Hermes however, shrugged, "Eh, don't be so sure about it, folks. There's a possibility that nothing will happen to them."

Before anyone could respond or rebut his statement of wishful thinking, Hera sharply cut in, her tone admonishing, "We won't know with all the inane interruptions now, _would we_?!"

Apollo and Hermes were among the few gods that rolled their eyes, and the demigods merely ignored her, not bothering to spare her a side-glance. Hestia on the other hand, sighed sadly to herself, her gaze assessing her youngest sister. How Hestia wished her sister would let go of her unjust hatred toward demigods and just lighten up.

 **"** **All these workouts, Soph, I don't know," the boy teasingly addressed her between spoonfuls. "Guys don't like buff girls."**

The arm wrapped around Clarisse's waist tightened, and Chris confidently disagreed, "Yes. _They do_."

Aphrodite squealed at the young lovers, eyes alight with joy when Clarisse gave him a quick kiss in gratitude. The demigods teasingly ' _awwhed'_ the blushing couple while Ares simply narrowed his eyes at his daughter's boyfriend.

"Ah, young love," the goddess of love dreamily sighed.

 **Soph grabbed a small water bottle and shut the fridge. "Yeah, well, girls don't like guys who still live at home," she sassily shot back.**

" _Burn_!" Connor and Travis sniggered.

Aphrodite nodded, looking quite serious, "The girl is absolutely correct."

Artemis and Athena rolled their eyes in unison.

 **The boy simply smirked and drained the milk from his bowl before he slid off the counter and sarcastically laughed, "Ha ha ha."**

 **"** **Ha ha ha!" she rebutted, her tone equally sarcastic as she opened the front door to head out.**

 **"** **Be careful," her father called out. Soph shot him a smile from over her shoulders, "I will."**

 **The door closed behind her.**

"Oh gods!" Rachel whined, covering her face with her hands and peeking through the small space between her fingers. "I'm telling you, it's her. Something bad's gonna happen to her."

Leo stared at the redhead in fascination, "Is it an Oracle thing?"

Apollo choked on a laugh, eyes sparkling with humor, and he wasn't the only one.

Rachel glared at the son of Hephaestus through narrowed eyes, unsure on whether he was actually serious or taking the mickey out of her. " _No_. it's something called _intuition_!"

"Oh. Okay," Leo shrugged, looking around and realizing that nearly all his friends and even a few gods were out of breath due to their bout of laughter. "Hey, what did I miss? Did someone say a joke?"

That set them off again, and this time, Rachel joined in.

"Leo, do us a favor and never change, man," Jason chuckled, clapping a bemused Leo on the back with a wide grin.

Poor Leo still looked confused. "No, seriously. What's the joke?" he inquired.

Reflexively, Katie and Rachel smacked a hand over Travis and Connor's mouths, respectively, effectively preventing them from making any further comments, most probably one that would heighten Leo's confusion.

Annabeth fondly rolled her eyes, "Later, Leo."

"But-"

This time, Piper clapped a hand over Leo's mouth, " _Later_."

Amused at the twitchy demigod's disgruntled state and his incessant pleas that came out muffled, the gods diverted their attention back to the screen.

 **Soph, dressed in swimwear, stood on a dock, dark eyes looking at the vast, expansive lake.**

Poseidon beamed happily as he admired the stunning view, his acute vision easily detecting the ripples in the lake. While he was God and Lord of the Sea, any and all bodies of water were nevertheless under his domain, and he had absolute control over water.

 **The shot rotated to show the boy from earlier watching her from a distance as she dove into the vast lake. Underwater, Soph swam upwards breaking the surface as she inhaled air. She continued to swim onwards, pure joy on her face as she came up for air once again. The shot showed her figure from underwater as she made a sort of cartwheel jump and resumed swimming.**

"She's a talented swimmer," Persephone complimented.

Poseidon's bright smile never wavered, and Triton nodded, as though he were acknowledging the mortal's dedication. Percy stared at the screen with wistful eyes, his ADHD acting up as his brain urged him to find a body of water and take a quick dip.

 **She came up for air and apprehensively looked around at her surroundings, but there was no one there. Shrill whispers pierced the air.**

" _AHH_!"

Most of the occupants in the room winced at the ear-splitting sound, some rubbing their ears at the nuisance while others simply kept them covered as the irritating sound intensified.

 **Underwater view, the shot zoomed in on Soph as though from another person's point of view, inching closer toward her. Suddenly, Soph yelped loudly as an unseen force dragged her underwater, leaving nothing behind but ripples the disturbance caused and a few bubbles.**

 **In the background, crickets chirped and as the sky grew darker, the shot portrayed the vast lake, devoid of any body.**

"What the-" Percy muttered, confused, while his friends all gasped in horror.

Poseidon's previously bright expression darkened and an impressive scowl marred his features, "What is the meaning of this? The mortal is a spectacular swimmer; this is no mere accident!"

"Well, perhaps then, you may shed some light on this… _unusual_ phenomenon. After all," Zeus raised a brow, electric blue eyes boring into his brother's furious sea-green ones, "This _is_ your area of expertise, is it not?"

Hades nodded, and while he knew his brother had no part in this puzzling enigma, it felt good to see somebody else shoulder the blame for something they were innocent of. "Yes, brother. Water is your domain. Your area of jurisdiction."

Poseidon scowled at them; he knew Zeus was outright blaming him, for that was what his little brother did best – the little hypocrite. Hades on the other hand, he was merely being petty, basking in the opportunity to accuse him of wrongdoing for once.

" _You_ _know_ that I mostly oversee the Seas and the Oceans, brothers," Poseidon growled, his grip tightening on his trident. "The Naiads preside over the lakes. My dear," he released the trident from his grip and delicately weaved his fingers with his anxious wife's, "do you suspect something has ailed your cousins?"

Amphitrite, her eyes welling with tears out of concern for her cousins, frantically shook her head, "I know not, Poseidon. My Limnades cousins would never harm a mortal. _Never_. This is not of their doing. They must have abandoned their post on that lake due to whatever creature has taken residence there." She would not entertain such dark thoughts of her cousins' deaths.

"A monster then?" Hecate frowned, uncertain of her own postulation. "But monsters only harm demigods."

"Unless this girl is no mortal, but a demigod," Persephone wagered a guess, though her tone clearly portrayed her doubt.

Artemis sadly shook her head, "You are reaching, Persephone."

Poseidon sighed, the sound as loud as a gust of wind, silencing everyone's jumbled thoughts, "Something foul resides in that lake, preying on mortals. I do not believe this is the act of a Naiad or any sea monster. In fact, I am certain it is a creature we have yet to hear of."

"Like the wendigo and the woman in white," Apollo agreed.

"Anyhow, the conundrum shall be solved in due time," Hestia calmly voiced, her red orbs piercing Zeus and Hades in particular. "Let us practice patience and cease condemnation without corroboration, brothers!"

Smiling appreciatively at his sister, Poseidon gathered his distressed wife into his arms in an effort to soothe her worries and focused his furious orbs on the screen, vowing to himself that once the Fates' task has been completed, he would _personally_ journey to Lake Manitoc and dispose of this abominable creature.

 **The screen showed the interior of a restaurant before it homed in on a nearly empty plate that sat in front of Dean, a pen in hand and a newspaper opened on the obituary section beside the plate. Liv, who sat beside him on the booth, leaned forward just as he circled a name.**

 **"** **Who croaked?" she carelessly asked, shoveling a forkful of waffles into her mouth.**

Unconsciously, Ares smirked at her insensitive method of phrasing.

Hera spluttered indignantly, "How disrespectful!"

"I'm sure she didn't mean anything bad by it, Hera. Stop overreacting," Aphrodite retorted snappishly, feeling extremely defensive of Olivia.

Curious, Dionysus looked over at the demigods, "Is that what you teenagers say these days?"

"Among others," Percy warily informed him.

Dionysus' eyes lit up and he leaned forward in interest, "Oh, do tell-"

" _Dionysus_!" Hera screeched, glaring ferociously between the wine god and the spawn of the sea. "I don't want you educating yourself in _slang_ ," she spat the word as though it were poison. "We use _proper_ words such as, died, perished, deceased, etcetera-"

Having had enough, Ares sneered at her, "Oh shut up!"

Outraged, Hera shot up to her feet and glowered at her son, "WHAT did you tell me?!"

" _He said_ , shut up," Hephaestus drawled, backing up his brother with a bored expression as he looked up from his tools and stopped tinkering. "And for once, I find myself in agreement with Ares. _Do_ shut up."

Ares smirked at his crippled brother, his flaming sockets sparking with appraisement.

"I don't know WHERE I ever went wrong with the two of you! You insufferable ingrates have _absolutely_ no respect for your dear mother. Stains on my flesh, you should be grateful for having me as a mother!"

"Is she being serious right now?" Annabeth scathingly whispered, ensuring that only her fellow friends would be able to hear her, all of whom were gaping in disbelief at the scene, staring at the Queen of Olympus with wide eyes.

"Thank you for throwing me from Mount Olympus and permanently crippling me," Hephaestus deadpanned. Sparks of fire could be seen in his wild brown beard, caused by his rage.

Hera aggressively rolled her eyes and in a very unladylike manner – or very un-Hera-like – groaned, resting a hand on her forehead. "Would you get OVER IT already! I _said_ I was sorry!"

Percy leaned forward and whispered his response to Annabeth's unanswered question, "Yeah, I think she is."

"Sorry doesn't change the fact that I am crippled for an eternity!" Hephaestus roared back.

Ares staunchly stood by his brother, he may have a rivalry with the blacksmith, but when it came to Hera, they were always a team. "Face it, you won't be winning Mother of the Year awards anytime in the unforeseeable future."

All throughout Hera, Ares and Hephaestus' loud argument, the other gods were rendered speechless, eyes flickering between all three of them as though it were a tennis match. Zeus attempted to step in, only for the dispute to accelerate and their voices to intensify, prompting him to backtrack. Even Hestia didn't dare to intervene, knowing that some words needed to be spoken in the hopes of resolving their issues.

"This coming from you!" Hera shrieked indignantly, glaring daggers at Ares. "I shudder to think of your poor children and the state your daughters are in because of you, you heartless, loveless despicable man! You do not even feel an ounce of love for Olivia!"

"BE QUIET YOU INSUFFERABLE HAG!"

Silence shrouded the throne room. Every single individual, but for one, sported wide eyes, and they turned to face the goddess, her face flushed red with fury and her manicured hands balled into fists, so tight, her knuckles turned white.

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" Hera enunciated each word slowly, her voice a deathly whisper that didn't bode well for whoever was on the receiving end of it.

Aphrodite stalked closer, her expression unchanging, "I called you an insufferable hag, Hera, and trust me, I was being kind!" The demigods, Grover and Rachel choked back their laughter, not wanting to risk Hera's wrath. "I will not sit here and listen to your lambasting remarks in silence. The only heartless person in this room is _you_! What sort of self-proclaimed goddess of family _tosses_ her child off one of the highest mountains because her child didn't fit into her picture of a ' _perfect family_ '! So do us all a favor: shut up and sit down, you miserable, spiteful woman!"

Speechless, Hera dropped back into her throne, mentally vowing to seek vengeance later.

Shocked at his wife's defense, Hephaestus bobbed his head in gratitude and returned to his tinkering, making sure he didn't see Ares capture Aphrodite's lips in a victorious kiss.

Zeus paled when Hera leaned forward to hiss in his ears, "Thank you for coming to my defense, _husband_!"

And again, Hestia sighed sadly; Hera would prove to be most difficult. _Very_ difficult. Not only do the demigods harbor such intense hatred toward her youngest sister, but her own sons cannot stomach the sight of her. Hestia had her work cut out for her, but she was adamant in succeeding. She _will_ unite her family.

 **Sam shot Liv a look of disproval as he stood up and walked away, which went ignored as she snatched the newspaper and attempted to read the obituary herself.**

 **A very attractive waitress with blonde locks and blue eyes, dressed in a tight top and denim mini-shorts approached them, her nametag reading: Wendy. "Can I get** ** _you_** **anything else?" her eyes were trained on Dean who raked her form with a lewd grin.**

Artemis huffed, crossed her arms tightly against her chest and began murmuring incomprehensible profanities under her breath, much to Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite's amusement.

 **He reached out for a paper, pen poised to write, but at that moment, Sam returned and slid into his seat, smiling up at the waitress, "Just the check, please."**

"Now that was cold," Apollo whistled, shaking his head in disapproval towards Sam.

Hermes grinned, nodding in agreement, "He's supposed to help a brother out."

 **Wendy walked away.**

 **Dean dropped his head then looked at Sam, irritation heavy on his features, "You know, Sam, we** ** _are_** **allowed to have fun once in a while." He pointed at Wendy's retreating back, his eyes lingering on the lower half of her body, "** ** _That's_** **fun."**

" _Very_ fun," Apollo and Hermes murmured in unison, prompting Artemis, Athena and Hera to glower at them in vehement disapproval.

 **Sam gave him a deadpanned look just as Liv put down the newspaper and fiercely rubbed her eyes.**

Percy winced, "I feel her pain."

Nico nodded, subconsciously rubbing his own eyes, "Yeah, especially when it comes to reading the paper."

"And _what_ is wrong with reading newspapers, young man?" Athena snapped, her eyes daring him to anger her further.

Hades growled lowly in his throat, not appreciating the look Athena was giving his son. Nico, however, looked utterly bored and not the least bit intimidated by her, "The lettering is tiny, which makes it excruciating to read for those with dyslexia."

Athena curtly nodded and released him from her intense gaze; Annabeth offered Nico an apologetic smile.

 **"** **Besides, isn't there like, a rule, in the bro handbook or something, that says one brother cannot cockblock another brother?"**

Laughter ensued, most particularly from Apollo and Hermes. Aphrodite giggled slightly and smugly smirked to herself when she caught the subtle look of horror coat Ares' features upon hearing Olivia's questionable words.

"There should be!" Dionysus grumbled, glaring pointedly at his father.

Zeus rolled his eyes, "I _explicitly_ stated she was off-limits, did I not? And yet you _intentionally_ disobeyed my order."

"You were just jealous she preferred my company over yours," Dionysus snidely retorted.

"SHE DID NOT!" Zeus exclaimed in outrage, slamming the butt of his Master Bolt on the ground, the lights flickering slightly.

But before Dionysus could retort, Hera once again stood on her feet and screamed, " _I_ AM RIGHT HERE! YOUR _WIVES_ ARE SITTING RIGHT HERE! Have you NO respect for us?!"

To Hera's horror and Zeus' envy, Ariadne leaned forward, pecked Dionysus on the cheek and patted his hand, the bright smile on her face not faltering for even a second, "I do not mind, Hera. Dionysus can run around other women's skirts to his heart's content, I know his heart would always remain devoted to me. At the end of the day, he belongs to me."

This time, to the demigods, Grover, and Rachel's horror, Dionysus chuckled, he actually _genuinely_ chuckled and planted a kiss on his wife's lips. Athena's scowl could rival Hera's. "How can you say that? Do you have any self-worth? The disgust was palpable in her tone.

The wine god's eyes flared dangerously at the goddess of wisdom, but once again, Ariadne soothed his temper by stroking his inner wrist with the pad of her thumb. "Athena, I would watch your tone if I were you," she warningly stated, her tone dark. "I do in fact, respect myself, but unlike others-" and here she pointedly stared at Zeus, "I am no hypocrite. Dionysus is allowed lovers, because I, myself, have lovers of my own."

Tittering at the looks on Artemis, Hera, Athena and Zeus' faces, Aphrodite leaned forward, her expression inviting, "Tell me, how is the debonair Damien?"

"Charming as always," Ariadne winked, dropping one last kiss on Dionysus' cheek as Aphrodite squealed.

The teenagers had identical looks of amazement on their faces as they observed the gods in their element and their shocking dynamics with one another.

"This is _so_ surreal," Connor breathed out.

Wide-eyed, Thalia nodded in agreement, "You can say that again."

"This is _so_ surreal," Travis parroted, reflexively ducking the blow Thalia had aimed at his head.

 **"** ** _Olivia_** **!" Sam rebuked her, horrified.**

 **Dean however, chuckled and winked at her, offering her a fist bump which she proudly accepted.**

 **Sam rolled his eyes, "Stop encouraging her Dean. You're setting a bad example!"**

 **"** **Ugh,** ** _God_** **, Sammy-boy. You need to learn to loosen up and live a little, take that stick out of your ass," Olivia exclaimed, her face solemn. Sam gave her a bitch-face and Dean masked his laughter behind a cough.**

Cue more laughter.

"She makes a decent point. Life's too short," Hazel commented matter-of-factly.

"Remind you of anybody?" Poseidon asked the room in large, though his mirthful eyes shone in Zeus' direction, who glowered in return. _'_ _I am nothing like that mortal boy! How degrading!_ '

Hermes' face stretched into a wide grin, " _Oooh_ , I knew I liked her for a reason."

Aphrodite and Apollo sneaked a peak at Ares, only to dismally look away at the unwelcoming sight of his stony expression, not giving anything away.

 **Dean then cleared his throat, disrupting the staring contest between Sam and Liv. He tossed the obituary section at Sam, and said, "Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water; nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago."**

"Three bodies?" Amphitrite gasped in horror; this certain 'episode' was really hitting her hard due to the connection to her cousins and their worrying disappearance.

All humor vanished from Poseidon's face at the alarming number. Bodies lost at sea was a regular occurrence, however it was no simple feat in a lake. T'was unnatural and concerning.

"Perchance whatever is responsible simply _ate_ the mortals, and that is why no bodies were found," Dionysus casually pointed out from behind his magazine.

"It's like he has a fetish with eating people," Chris muttered to Clarisse, her expression green with nausea.

Like father, like son; Hermes whipped around to stare wide-eyed at his half-brother, "What is it with you and your recent obsession with people getting eaten?"

Dionysus rolled his eyes and without looking at Hermes, drawled, "Don't be ridiculous. I am merely stating the obvious. Where else would the bodies be but digested in a beast's stomach?"

A green-faced Aphrodite gaped at him, appalled, "You are _very_ disturbed, Dionysus."

Finally, he looked up to meet Aphrodite's horror-stricken gaze. "Please. Stop. You're making me blush," he deadpanned. Hermes and Apollo, despite their disgust, couldn't help but bite the inside of their cheeks in an effort to suppress their laughter.

 **"** **A funeral?" Sam asked, confused.**

 **Dean nodded, "Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin. For, uh, closure or whatever."**

"It's _not_ weird," Will said defensively, looking away from the many sorrowful expressions and furiously blinking away the start of tears. Percy was in the same boat, the guilt gnawing at him.

The ambience darkened and the gods exchanged confused looks, wondering why the demigods' moods deteriorated so suddenly.

Names and faces flashed right before each demigods' eyes, recalling the plethora of burial shrouds that belonged to the many deceased demigods from the Titan War whose bodies were never recovered; Charles Beckendorf and Michael Yew standing out in particular.

Despite the heavy silence that befell them, the film had paused, almost as though an invisible force, or perhaps it was the work of the Fates, were allowing the demigods a moment of silence as a sign of respect for their many friends and campers that had perished in both wars.

Bemused, Ariadne tentatively inquired, "Is everything alright?"

Annabeth looked between her friends, and upon seeing them relatively better, offered the goddess a tight-lipped smile, "We're fine."

The screen resumed playing, activated by Annabeth's claim.

 **Still sporting an expression of disbelief, Sam exclaimed, "Closure?** ** _What_** **closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just** ** _stop_** **looking for them."**

Fuming, Will clenched his fists and snapped, "That's not true!"

Nico leaned forward and softly placed a hand on his shoulder, "Will, calm down. Don't get yourself worked up over it."

"But-but the way he phrased it… he's saying that I do-" Will angrily started but froze, quickly correcting himself, "that _they_ , that _they_ don't care. That they just _gave up_!"

"Will," Nico prefaced, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. "Sam's alluding to the fact that their father's missing and that _they're_ not looking for him. He doesn't mean anything by it, he's just letting out all his bottled anger at Dean."

A frown settled on Apollo's face as he stared at his son in deep concern, the usual mirth and joviality leaving his handsome features. He wanted to understand why Sam's words affected his son so much and why the teenagers were emitting a somber aura.

The demigods stared sadly at Will, watching as Nico tried to calm down the normally hyper and cheerful son of Apollo. The Titan War really did a number on the Apollo Cabin; Lee Fletcher didn't make it through the Battle of the Labyrinth, and then shortly after, during the Battle of Manhattan, Michael Yew turned up missing when Percy was forced to destroy part of the bridge to prevent Kronos from crossing. Despite the fact that Michael's body wasn't a part of the deceased, the assumption was that he died with the destruction of the bridge. Therefore, Sam's comment really hit close to home.

 **"** **Wow, Sam. Don't leave it bottled in. Spit it out," Liv snapped as she rooted through her Aztec patterned hippie shoulder bag.**

Nico smiled over at Will, who looked relatively calmer, "See. What did I tell you?"

"Thanks, Neeks," Will smiled.

The son of Hades fondly rolled his eyes, deciding to forgo scolding him for the irritating nickname just this once.

Piper's eyes gleamed as she stared between the two boys knowingly.

 **Sam shot Liv and Dean an icy glare and coldly spoke, "The trail for Dad. It's getting colder every day."**

 **"** **Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?" Dean shot back, clearly frustrated. Sam shrugged, "I don't know. Something.** ** _Anything_** **!"**

 **Growling, Liv finally pulled out an egg-white beanie from her bag and shoved it onto her head before she focused her glare on Sam, "It's not like Uncle John's got some lojack installed so we can track him around the damn country. We're in the same boat as you!"**

"All this teenager lingo, it gets so confusing," Dionysus sighed, looking up from his magazine. "Times were much more simpler during the Classical Period."

Aphrodite on the other hand, was more interested in Olivia's sense of fashion. "She seems to have quite a collection of beanie hats. How intriguing, I must visit the mall soon," she mused to herself, prompting a few eye rolls and sighs of exasperation.

 **"** **You don't think we wanna find Dad as much as you do?" Dean snapped, backing Liv up.**

 **Sam backtracked and put his hands up in the universal gesture for surrender, "Yeah, I know you do, it's just-"**

 **"** ** _We're the ones_** **-" Dean flicked a finger from him to Liv as he kept his eyes trained on Sam, "-that's been with him** ** _every single day_** **for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?"**

 **Sam simply rolled his eyes in response, but Dean was distracted by Wendy, who had come over with the check. Once Dean tossed over a couple of bills, Sam asked, "All right, Lake Manitoc. How far?"**

 **The screen then showed the Impala drive past a sign that read: "Welcome to Lake Manitoc WI"**

Spurred by their curiosity, nearly every individual in the room leaned forward, looking forward to discovering the nature of the recent monster.

 **The Impala pulled over at the familiar house; the Carlton's. The shot then focused on the Winchesters as they stood in front of the front door. The dark-haired boy from earlier opened the door.**

 **"** **Will Carlton?" Dean inquired. Receiving an affirmative, he continued, "I'm Agent Ford. This is Agent Hamill and Agent Fischer." He pointed at Sam and Liv respectively. "We're with the US Wildlife Service."**

Rachel's jaw _literally_ dropped, her emerald orbs bugging out from their sockets, "Are they for real?"

"Crazytown, would ya give it a rest already? So they're committing identity fraud, _get over it_!" Clarisse growled.

The redhead glared at the daughter of Ares, initiating a one-minute-long glaring contest before she waved a hand in the air, "That's _not_ what I was about to say!"

"Seriously?" Percy inquired in disbelief, his lips twitching.

She pouted at him, "Okay, fine, so I'm annoyed about it. Yes. But I swear, I wasn't going to bring it up." Upon seeing her friends' identical looks of ' _really?_ ' with their eyebrows raised for emphasis, she huffed in affront and elaborated, "Ford, Hamill and Fischer? That's not creative _at all_! Those are the names of the actors who played Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia in the Star Wars trilogy. Just sayin'… If they're gonna be breaking the law, the least they could do is fabricate a good alias!" she grumbled as she concluded her speech.

When she found herself on the receiving end of bewildered stares from her friends _and_ the gods, the Oracle gaped back in kind. " _What_? Are you telling me that… _none of you_ , not _one_ of you, watch Star Wars?! It's _Star Wars_! _Hello_?" she frantically waved a hand overhead, eyes wide with shock.

Travis blinked, his eyes refocusing on the hysterical redhead, "Con and I are Trekkies, Rach."

Rachel's " _ugh, seriously!_ " was drowned out by a litany of agreement from Katie, Percy, Leo and Will, all of whom were avid Trekkies.

"What language are you speaking?" Hecate frowned, bemused.

Dionysus had ditched his magazine the moment the Oracle spoke, always interested in learning _slang_ , mostly to irritate the brats at Camp Half-Blood.

Annabeth eagerly cleared her throat, enthusiastic at the prospect of imparting knowledge to others. "Trekkie is what the devoted fans of _Star Trek_ call themselves."

"So… no Star Wars fans here?" Rachel asked, almost sadly.

Rolling her eyes, Thalia reached forward and patted her back, "I am."

"Same," Chris, Clarisse and Frank echoed, prompting a face-splitting grin out of Rachel.

"Hold on," Connor turned to Thalia, an eyebrow arched. "You watch Star Wars, but you've _never_ even heard of Ghostbusters? How'd that happen?"

And again, the daughter of Zeus rolled her eyes, not bothering to answer, making him pout.

Grinning mischievously, Apollo clapped his hands together, "Well then, now that the debate between Star Wars and Star Trek has been uh, settled, let's get on with it, shall we?"

"At least somebody here has a good head on their shoulders," Hera grumbled to herself, Zeus and Poseidon being the only ones to hear her.

 **Once Dean held out an ID, Will Carlton led the Winchesters to the lake. Mr. Carlton sat on a bench on the dock as the four approached him.**

 **"** **She was about a hundred yards out," Will was saying, his voice grave and expression downtrodden. "That's where she got dragged down," he pointed at the vast lake. Dean grimaced at the sight, looking back at Will, "And you're sure she didn't just drown?"**

 **Will was quick to nod, and he confidently said, "Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer.**

Percy let out a low whistle, "Definitely not an accident."

"Obviously not," Triton grimaced, though whether it was because he was in agreement with his father's illegitimate spawn, or because of the girl's fate, they couldn't tell.

 **She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as in her own bathtub."**

"I'd take my chances with the bathtub," Thalia shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Jason and Nico shivered as well.

Poseidon frowned at his nephews and niece, before comprehension dawned on him and he smiled kindly down at them, "I would never allow anything to befall you should you decide to enter my domain."

"You wouldn't?" Jason looked at his uncle with shock and uncertainty.

Poseidon sighed. "No. Unlike my brother," and here he shot an indignant Zeus a pointed glare, "I do not take my anger out on innocent children. I like to think that as time evolved, I did as well and I wouldn't _dramatically_ harm a child because of some grudge I might have with their father."

"Let it go already!" Zeus groaned while Hades shifted uncomfortably, his dark eyes boring into Thalia Grace.

"Damn, your Dad's really awesome," Thalia muttered to a proud Percy, who was grinning smugly at her, Jason and Nico.

 **"** **So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Liv probed.**

 **Will shook his head, "No, that's what I'm telling you."**

 **"** **Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?" Sam inquired, his forehead burrowing in concentration. Once again, Will hastily shook his head and echoed his previous statement, "She was really far out there."**

"This beast is attacking from below the surface," Hades mused out loud.

Persephone nodded, understanding her husband's deduction, "No shadow would have formed."

 **"** **You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean questioned. Will looked skittish now, his face lined with worry, "No, never. Why? Why, what do you think's out there?"**

 **Liv offered him a tight-lipped smile and adopted a soothing tone, "We'll let you know as soon as we do." Giving him a nod in parting, Liv and Dean turned to head back to the Impala, when Sam asked a question that halted their tracks, "What about your father? Can we talk to him?"**

 **Hesitantly, Will looked at his father then back at Sam, "Look, if you don't mind, I mean…he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."**

"I can only imagine," Hestia sadly uttered.

Demeter sniffed loudly, eyes blazing at Hades, " _I_ can. After all, my precious Kore was taken from me!"

Many groans met her recurring statement which only made Demeter haughtily lift her head in indignation.

"How many times has she brought that up till now?" Leo murmured to the others.

Travis shrugged, "Beginning to lose count."

"You'd think after four thousand years she'd have gotten over it by now," Katie stated, embarrassed.

Persephone let out a yell of victory, beaming at her half-sister, "You see mother! Even your demigod child is in agreement."

Flushing at the sudden attention and at her mother's betrayed expression, Katie hid her face in Travis' chest, his chuckles vibrating against her in an almost soothing motion.

 **The Winchesters left and the screen showed the interior of a police station. An elder man in uniform with salt and pepper hair and dark eyes was walking along the bustling station with the Winchesters hot on his heels.**

 **"** **Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" he sternly inquired.**

Piper didn't look pleased, "Three mysterious drownings in one year, no bodies turn up, and they still dismiss it as an accidental drowning? What is wrong with these people!"

"Exactly! And the girl, Sophie, she is – was – is, uh… you know what I mean," Percy spluttered. "She's a varsity swimmer! It's impossible!"

Thalia smirked, "Beauty Queen, Seaweed Brain, calm down."

The aforementioned demigods threw her a deadpanned glare, and in unison, said, "Shut up, Pinecone Face."

 **Liv arched an eyebrow, "With all due respect, Sheriff Devins, the number of 'accidental drownings' are piling up, and according to Will Carlton, his sister was a varsity swimmer. Tell me," she put a hand on her hip and looked him squarely in the face, "how does a varsity swimmer** ** _accidentall_** **y drown?"**

"That's what _I_ said!" Percy and Piper stated loudly.

Their eyes connected.

"Jinx!" they yelled simultaneously, pointing a finger at each other.

" _Jinx_!" they said again, their voices getting louder.

Before they could cry the word out again, Jason and Annabeth pulled them back and clapped a hand over their mouths.

Poseidon and Aphrodite fondly smiled at their respective child while Apollo and Hermes laughed in their expense along with the teenagers.

 **Sheriff Devins looked away and Sam stepped in, "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."**

 **"** **Like what?" the Sheriff skeptically inquired, opening the door to his office and motioning to the chairs that sat in front of his desk. "Here, sit, please. There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake."**

Dionysus snorted, "Ignorant fool."

 **Dean, Sam and Liv sat, the latter with an annoyed expression.**

 **"** **There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster," he continued, taking a seat himself.**

In comical unison, the demigods, Rachel and Grover swiveled their heads around to stare at the Sea God, the question clear in their eyes.

Poseidon's eyes crinkled into crescent-shapes of mirth as he let out a bellowing, good-natured laugh, and even Triton and Amphitrite's lips twitched, biting back a smile. The gods grinned at the serious expressions on the children's faces, and even Hera couldn't help but chuckle alongside her brother.

Once his hearty laughter subsided, Poseidon wiped away a stray tear of laughter from his handsome face and smiled widely at the children, "I assure you, the Loch Ness Monster _is_ in fact, a myth."

" _Dang it_!" Travis and Connor pouted, honestly downtrodden at the news.

"Apologies, sons of Hermes," Poseidon grinned, his eyes twinkling merrily at the mischievous brothers.

Percy snorted, tilting his head sideways to rest against the top of Annabeth's head.

 **"** **Yeah, right," Dean chuckled. Sam and Liv smiled nervously.**

 **"** **Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there," Sheriff Devins informed them.**

"How can a body simply disappear in a lake," Hazel murmured under her breath.

Dionysus grunted, "Like I said, the beast ate them."

Out of nowhere, a stiletto collided with Dionysus' forehead. "What was that for?" he grumbled, rubbing his forehead while he glared at the fuming goddess of love.

"I have had just about enough with your revolting remarks, Dionysus," she huffed. Blinking her doe eyes at Ares, an inaudible sigh escaped his lips and he flicked his wrist. The stiletto vanished for a second, only to reappear to its previous place. Aphrodite stared admiringly at her stiletto-clad feet and kissed Ares on the cheek, "Thank you, darling."

Ares simply grunted and Hephaestus rolled his eyes, his eyes, not even for a second, detaching from his tools.

"They're like a bunch of teenagers," Frank observed, ensuring the gods couldn't hear him.

 **"** **That's weird though, I mean, that's, that's the** ** _third_** **missing body this year," Dean pointed out in disbelief.**

 **The Sheriff nodded glumly, "I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about." Sam and Liv gave him a commiserating look. "Anyway…" he sighed, staring between the Winchesters, "All this… it won't be a problem much longer."**

 **Dean cocked his head, "What do you mean?"**

 **"** **Well, the dam, of course," Sheriff Devins exclaimed like it was the most obvious answer. Dean plastered on a smile and tried to hazard a guess, "Of course, the dam. It's, uh, it sprung a leak."**

"Dude!" Connor groaned, "You can do better than that."

Travis mocked a look of disappointment as he tutted, "And here I thought he had potential."

"Both of you. Shut it," Katie snapped, silencing them.

 **"** **It's falling apart," the Sheriff corrected him, disgruntled.**

" _What_!" Poseidon and Amphitrite yelled, identical looks of fury on their visages.

 **"** **And the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that." He arched an eyebrow at them.**

Amphitrite glanced at the room in large, distressed. "But my cousins!" she gasped.

"Perhaps they did indeed abandon the lake. I'm sure they are perfectly fine," Ariadne attempted to mollify her, to which Poseidon sent her an appreciative smile.

"But, but…" the Queen of the Sea wrung her wrists, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Poseidon laid a firm hand on his wife's shoulder, his face practically screaming determination, "I will _personally_ see to it, Amphitrite. This I swear. The lake and the town shall prevail, and I will abolish this beast that is preying on the mortals and return your cousins to their post."

Her face split into a watery smile and she pecked his lips, "Thank you, Sei."

"What I am most curious of," Zeus prefaced, his electric orbs focusing on Poseidon and Amphitrite, and for once they lacked a hint of blame, instead shining with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "Is _why_ the Limnades failed to bring this atrocity to your attention."

"I wish I knew the answer, brother," the Sea God sighed sadly. "I have never hesitated to come to their aid before."

Athena was the one to bravely address the elephant in the room, "Unless, the Naiad presiding over Lake Manitoc has perished."

At her mother's blunt words, Annabeth facepalmed.

Nearly everyone glared at Athena for her lack of tact, though none harsher than Poseidon and Triton. Amphitrite gasped, a hand covering her mouth in horror, "No. No. I am, I doubt it. My cousins are smart. They would've… no! I will not entertain such thoughts without proof."

Poseidon held her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly, "Do not fret, my Queen. I shall see to it once the Fates' task has been accomplished."

"I shall help," Triton assured his mother.

 **Liv nodded solemnly, "Yes, we heard about it."**

 **At that moment, somebody knocked on the door and a pretty brunette with doe-like brown eyes entered, "Sorry, am I interrupting?" The Winchesters automatically stood up. "I can come back later…" she hesitantly trailed off.**

 **The Sheriff smiled and beckoned her over, "Gentlemen, lady, this is my daughter."**

 **A charming smile graced Dean's face as he offered her a hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean."**

Artemis scowled, jiggling her foot angrily. "That man is _incorrigible_ ," she hissed.

"He's appreciating the woman's beauty. Nothing wrong with that," Apollo cheekily stated, not the least bit bothered by the glare he could feel burning a hole into the back of his head.

 **She accepted the hand with a tight-lipped smile, "Andrea Barr. Hi."**

 **"** **They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake," the Sheriff matter-of-factly informed his daughter.**

 **Suddenly, a little head with a mop of neck-length, shaggy brown hair peeped from around Andrea's leg.**

"Oh! Isn't he a darling!" Aphrodite cooed, smiling brightly at the little boy.

Hera smiled fondly, "He is."

In fact, most of the occupants in the room couldn't help but smile at the adorable boy.

 **Liv smiled and kneeled down to be on the same level as him, "Hi there, cutie. What's your name?" In response, the little boy walked away from her without a word. Andrea followed him with an apologetic sigh and the Sheriff spoke up, "His name is Lucas."**

Reflexively, Annabeth and Thalia winced at the name and Percy bowed his head.

Hermes however, beamed brightly, "I always loved that name."

"You would," Travis and Connor muttered at the same time, sounding miffed yet oddly melancholic.

Hermes frowned at them in confusion, suddenly realizing the deflated looks on the children's faces. "Am I missing something?" he inquired.

"No. Nothing," Chris vaguely responded, avoiding eye contact with his father.

Bemused, Hermes looked at the other gods, but they all sported identical expressions of confusion.

 **"** **Is he okay?" Sam asked as he, Dean and Liv watched Andrea pass over a box of crayons to her son.**

 **The Sheriff shook his head dejectedly, "My grandson's been through a lot. We all have." He stood up and went to hold the door open for them, "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."**

 **Liv nodded curtly, "Thank you for your time."**

 **"** **But you know, now that you've mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?" Dean inquired.**

 **"** **Lakefront Motel," Andrea called out, having had overheard him. "Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south."**

 **Dean paused, a huge grin on his face as he met Andrea's gaze, "Two…would you mind showing us?" Sam and Liv traded exasperated looks as Andrea laughed. "You want me to walk you two blocks?"**

 **"** **Not if it's any trouble," Dean shrugged.**

Athena scowled, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Is this a new method of flirtation?"

"Perhaps it is simply an opportunity to question her further regarding the attacks," Hades remarked in his usual oily drawl.

The furious scowls Artemis, Athena, and Hera adopted instantly dropped.

 **Andrea casually shrugged, "I'm headed that way anyway." She turned to her father, "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three."**

Surreptitiously, Hermes glanced at the children, a subtle frown gracing his features upon seeing the automatic flinches and scowls the name 'Lucas' evoked.

 **She then kissed Lucas on the cheek, "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?"**

 **Dean and Liv waved at the boy as Sam thanked the Sheriff and they left the station.**

 **The screen showed Andrea leading the Winchesters through the street, Dean beside her and the other two bringing the rear. "So, cute kid," Dean smiled.**

 **"** **Thanks," she briskly replied as they crossed a street.**

Apollo snorted in amusement, "Smooth!"

Travis shook his head, repeating his previous evaluation, "The guy's losing his touch. First he can't tell a proper lie, and now he can't charm a lady off her feet."

"How disappointing," Leo sarcastically drew out.

Thalia rolled her eyes, " _OR_ , Andrea's just too smart to fall for Dean's flirting."

Connor pretended to think about it for a moment, stroking his chin in mock thought before he rapidly shook his head, a cheeky smirk displayed on his face, "Nah. Nah that's not it. Like Trav said, poor guy's losing his touch."

Hermes assessed his sister warily, noting her hands were twitching in a telltale sign that usually indicated she was about to– " _Don't_ even _think_ about it, Artemis!" he hissed, voice stern and expression stony.

Surprised at the unusual mood Hermes was exhibiting, every head turned to observe the exchange between Hermes and Artemis.

"Don't what?" Artemis asked, blinking at him, her twelve-year-old visage perfecting the innocent expression.

The trickster raised an eyebrow, not fooled for even a second, " _Don't_ you dare turn my sons into jackalopes!"

The Stolls paled while their friends attempted to bite back their laughter.

Artemis huffed, pouting childishly at Hermes before looking away with her arms crossed. "I would have turned them back!" she protested.

"Still," Hermes snapped, his flinty stare settling on her for a moment longer. Like grease, the frightening expression on his face slipped away when he turned to look at the Stolls, winking at them.

Travis and Connor beamed back, their previous assessment of their father returning tenfold: he was _so_ cool! It felt nice to know that Hermes had their back, as for the longest of times, they truly believed that Luke was the only child he loved the most.

 **Undeterred, Dean tried again, "Kids are the best, huh?"**

"Abort! Abort!" Leo exclaimed, making a cutting motion with his hand.

 **Andrea gave him a look and went on ignoring him. Liv however, snorted loudly. Dean glared at her from over his shoulder, which also went ignored.**

 **They stopped in front of a building with a sign that read: LAKEFRONT MOTEL.**

 **Liv gave Andrea a genuine smile, "Thank you."**

 **"** **Must be hard," Andrea stared pointedly at Dean, "with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line."**

"OHHHHH!" Connor, Travis, Chris, Leo, Percy and Jason booed.

Hermes chuckled, "Now _that_ was cold."

"I like her," Artemis perked up. "Tis a shame she lost her maidenhood. I would have loved to recruit her."

Nico clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. He _hated_ Artemis with a passion, _that_ he doubted would ever change. How could he ever respect the goddess when all she did was break families apart and rip girls away from their loved ones just because she held an unchanging sense of hatred to men. He may have accepted Bianca's death and moved on, but his regard of Artemis and her accursed Hunters would _never_ change.

"Such amusing wit," Athena's eyes sparkled.

"She does have a point though," Jason pointed out, hugging Piper closer to him. " _Kids are cute_? What kind of a pickup line is that?"

 **"** **Enjoy your stay!" she called over her shoulder as she walked away.**

 **The moment she disappeared from view, Liv leaned against the wall to keep herself upright as she burst into laughter. Dean scowled at her and then Sam when he spoke up, his voice heavily laced with disbelief, "'Kids are the best'? You don't even like kids."**

 **"** **I love kids," Dean protested.**

"Who _doesn't_ love kids?" Hazel asked rhetorically.

Thalia scowled at Hera, "One person in particular comes to mind."

Noticing the pointed glare, Hera squawked with indignation, affronted by the insinuation. "I beg your pardon! I adore and _cherish_ children! I AM the Goddess of Family after all," she haughtily concluded.

"Uh, not to sound like a broken record here, but…didn't you toss your son over one of the highest mountains?" Percy hesitantly pointed out, both his eyebrows raised and nearly disappearing into his hairline.

Hephaestus looked up from his tinkering, his deformed face contorting into a genuine smile. Ares let out a bark of laughter and Dionysus stared at the son of Poseidon, impressed and greatly amused by his bluntness. Poseidon, on the other hand, was torn between laughing and groaning.

"WOULD EVERYONE GET OVER IT!" Hera shrieked, and the teenagers couldn't help but liken her to a raving lunatic.

"Fine," Annabeth crossed her arms, her gray eyes burning a hole through the Queen of Olympus's forehead, "Then what about Dionysus, Apollo and Artemis… didn't you make an attempt on their life _before_ they were even born?!"

The three aforementioned gods were grinning from ear to ear, staring between Annabeth and the spluttering Hera who had been rendered speechless.

"Or how about the other children Lord Zeus fathered?" Clarisse sneered.

Ares smirked at her, "Atta girl." To which she blushed at the praise.

"They were not _my_ children! They were born out of wedlock and needed to be punished!" Hera screeched.

Zeus buried his face in his hands, a long-suffering groan escaping him. Poseidon and Hades actually pitied their brother at that moment.

Outraged, Piper sat ramrod straight and glowered at the goddess, "Did you ever hear of the saying: a child shouldn't be blamed for the sins of their father? They didn't _ask_ to be born! Why should they bear the brunt of your spite and envy? If anyone's to blame, it's _your_ husband!"

"Problem is," Thalia sneered, her voice ringing loudly in the deadly quiet room, "my father ranks higher than _you_. He's untouchable. So, instead, you target the vulnerable ones, those you have power over. Not really the act of a benevolent goddess and self-proclaimed goddess of family, now, is it?"

"YOU DARE!" Hera abruptly stood up, ready to pounce forward and claw Thalia's eyes out. "I'd show more respect, _girl_. I can smite you with nary a thought!"

Thalia mimicked the furious goddess and stood up, her eyes and fingertips crackling with electricity. "Go ahead!" she hissed through gritted teeth, "You'd just be proving my point."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Zeus boomed, reaching out and gripping Hera with a strong hand. He forcefully shoved her onto her throne and then glared between his wife and daughter with barely concealed fury. "THE BOTH OF YOU!" Thalia allowed Jason to pull her back down between him and Nico, though her glare never left Hera's form and her fingertips had yet to cease crackling.

The scent of ozone was more potent with Zeus' rage, overwhelming every individual in the room.

"Thalia, you _will_ respect my wife. _Understood_!?" his tone brooked no argument and he didn't rip his austere gaze from Thalia until she stiffly grumbled, "Yes, father." Slightly appeased, he whipped around to face Hera, raising an eyebrow at her upon seeing the smug smirk she was shooting at his daughter. "As for you, my wife. You threaten my child ever again, and I will mete out a harsh and deserving punishment. No more, Hera. I've had enough of your pettiness and jealousy. You are no longer allowed to take your anger out on my children _ever again. Understood?!_ "

Hera turned about ten shades paler as her mind conjured one of her worst memories… _The Void of Chaos_.

"I said, am I _understood_?" Zeus bellowed, snapping her back to the present.

Her eyes refocused on her apoplectic husband and she nodded her head a fraction, "Yes."

Slowly, the King of Gods retook his throne, and ignoring the plethora of wide eyes focused on his person, he waved a hand in the air and boomed, "We may proceed!"

 **"** **Name three children that you even know," Sam retorted, a hint of amusement in his eyes.**

 **Dean thought about it for a moment before a smirk graced his face, "Liv for one."**

 **She abruptly recovered from her laughing fit to glower at him, "I am NOT a kid."**

"Depends on who you ask," Persephone commented.

"She's definitely a kid in the eyes of the authorities. At least until she turns eighteen," Rachel pointed out.

 **"** **You are to me, kid," Dean grinned. Liv scowled at him and shoved past him into the motel, calling after him, "At least I'm not a man-child!"**

 **Sam chuckled and followed her inside, leaving Dean to scowl at Liv's retreating back, "Am not!"**

"Yes he is," Annabeth muttered.

Piper stared at the screen with dreamy eyes, "Yeah, but a gorgeous man-child."

" _Hey_!" Jason stared at her in shock. But she simply rolled her eyes and waved a hand overhead, "Oh _please_ , like I didn't see you check Liv out every time she appears onscreen."

The son of Jupiter sheepishly looked away.

" _Hey_!" Leo echoed, pouting at Jason, "Get your own chica to ogle at, Grace!"

Artemis scowled at the twitchy boy, "This girl is no possession or trinket to be held on display, _boy_!"

Leo cringed and hurriedly looked away.

"If you don't shut up, I'm gonna tell _Callie_ about your latest obsession," Thalia smirked deviously, purposely shortening Calypso's name so that she wouldn't tip off the gods and receive their ire. Leo held both hands up in a surrendering gesture and mimed zipping his lips.

Unseen to all, behind his expressionless mask, Ares was reaching his boiling point. ' _This is why I prefer to have boys!_ ' he mentally groaned.

 **In the motel room, Sam was typing away on his laptop, Dean was rooting through his clothes and Liv had made herself comfortable on the bed, a can of Red Bull sitting between her thighs.**

"Red Bull!" Travis licked his lips.

"Pure awesomeness!" Connor agreed, staring at the can wistfully.

Rachel facepalmed while Katie glared at them.

"Aren't you banned from drinking Red Bull?" Frank asked uncertainly.

Travis and Connor glumly looked down, "Yes."

"I don't understand…" Hermes trailed off, looking at the children expectantly.

Percy scratched the nape of his neck, eyes dancing with mirth as he looked at one of his favorite gods, "Well you see… Travis and Connor are already hyper enough without the uh, added help and, well…"

Annabeth took over, "The last time they drank Red Bull, they had three cans each and uh, let's just say-"

Chris cut in, ripping it like a bandage as he listed off the result of the Stolls Red Bull binge, "Half the Hermes cabin went up in flames, most of the Aphrodite cabin didn't show their faces for a week and the Dionysus, Ares, and Demeter cabins were covered in chocolate."

Every single god in the room stared at the Stolls in alarm, speechless.

"So Chiron banned them from drinking energy drinks at Camp Half-Blood," Grover concluded.

The Stolls looked up, sheepish smiles on their faces.

After a lengthy pause, Hermes whooped, "I am _so_ proud of you boys."

"Thanks, Dad," they chanted, identical smiles splitting their faces.

"I, for one, commend Chiron," Zeus sighed, rubbing his temples as he looked at the two troublemakers, their resemblance to Hermes uncanny, and not just in looks.

Dionysus frantically shook his head, staring indignantly at the others gods, "You see what I have to put up with?! Being in the presence of your little monsters for _one hour_ is punishment enough, let alone _a century_!"

"Oh quit it with the histrionics, D," Hermes waved the wine god away. "My boys are mini-me's in the making. They sure know how to make their father proud."

 **"** **So there's three drowning victims this year," Sam voiced out.**

 **Liv took a swig of her drink, "Any before that?"**

 **The camera homed in on the laptop screen; the browser was opened to** ** _The Lake Manitoc Tribune_** **.**

Without being asked, Rachel promptly translated for his dyslexic friends, "Drowning taints ice fishing festival. And…" as the second browser opened, she continued, "Twelve-year-old girl drowns in lake, second drowning in six months at Lake Manitoc."

"Thanks, Rach," Percy and Annabeth chorused with bright smiles.

 **"** **Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years," Sam informed them. "Those bodies were never recovered either." He looked up to establish eye contact, "If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."**

Poseidon stroked his neatly trimmed beard in contemplation. "If I were to hazard a guess, I strongly suspect that since the lake will be drained soon, this beast is becoming more active," he frowned.

"I have to agree with you," Athena scowled, looking pained over the fact that she was in agreement with _Poseidon_.

The Sea God smirked, "Don't sulk, Athena. It's an unflattering look on you."

"Oh do be quiet!" the goddess of wisdom snapped over the others' laughter.

Percy chuckled into Annabeth's hair when his father flashed him his trademark wink.

 **Dean tossed a shirt, which landed on Liv's head. "So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?" he inquired. Scowling, Liv hurled the shirt back at Dean and moved to sit beside Sam, her energy drink still in hand, "How is dear Nessie?"**

"Nessie?" almost everyone echoed in confusion.

"I think she's referring to the Loch Ness Monster," Rachel pointed out.

 **Dean grinned at her and ruffled her hair. She batted his hand away and stared expectantly at Sam.**

Aphrodite smiled at the cousins, charmed by their dynamic.

 **"** **That's the thing, Liv," Sam seemed frustrated, "this whole lake monster theory, it-it just** ** _bugs_** **me. Loch Ness, uh, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing." He waved a hand at the laptop, annoyed.**

And again, in a comical fashion, all the demigods, Rachel and Grover stared at Poseidon.

Chuckling, he reiterated his previous statement, "All myths."

"The eyewitnesses were most probably clear sighted mortals," Hecate added, entering the conversation and smiling softly when the children fixated their complete attention on her, devouring every word she said. "They no doubt laid eyes on a sea monster and believed it to be the Loch Ness Monster."

" _Ohhh_!" Annabeth's eyes were unusually round, "That would explain _so much_!"

 **"** **Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it," Sam continued. He started to scroll through an article when Dean suddenly stopped him.**

 **"** **Wait, Barr. Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?" Dean wondered.**

"The Sheriff's daughter. Her name's Andrea Barr!" Annabeth promptly answered, looking at the room in general as though she were expecting a cookie or a golden star.

Percy chuckled and kissed her forehead prompting Athena to glare at him.

 **"** **Wasn't that Andrea's last name," Liv pointed out, tossing her empty can into the trash.**

 **Dean stared at her with wide eyes and Sam hurriedly clicked on the article, reading it out loud, "Christopher Barr, the victim in May. You're right, Liv. …Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued."**

Several expressions of horror were directed at the screen as the laptop portrayed a picture of a police officer with Lucas.

"The poor dear," Hestia sadly uttered. "He's probably been traumatized by the incident."

"Yeah," Percy's eyes shone with compassion. "Seeing a loved one taken from you, watching as they disappear right before your eyes, it's not exactly a wonderful experience. I wouldn't recommend it," he bitterly stated.

Annabeth weaved their fingers together and snuggled up to him. Grover clapped his back and offered him a tight smile.

"Whatever do you mean?" Poseidon asked, almost hesitantly, like he was afraid of the answer.

Percy chuckled dryly, "Nothing, forget it."

The last thing Poseidon wished to do was to 'forget it' as Percy so eloquently stated, but for now, he would allow his son his privacy, but later… he _would_ be demanding answers.

 **Liv's face darkened, "I guess we might have an eyewitness after all."**

 **"** **No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over," Dean commented, shaking his head in horror.**

Poseidon closely inspected his son; Percy's hands were balled into fists, his expression one of agony. His heart dropped and his blood turned to ice… _'_ _Did something befall Sally?_ '

 **Liv abruptly stood up, murmuring to herself, "Not like I remember anything." And she walked away, leaving Dean and Sam to sadly watch her retreating back as the bathroom door slammed shut behind her.**

"It's a good thing she has no memory of that horrific night," Persephone shuddered.

Ariadne nodded in wholehearted agreement, "Such a horrifying death is better left without any witnesses."

"You've forgotten John, Aria," Aphrodite desolately reminded her. "Not only did he watch his sister's death, but his wife's as well."

The three goddesses blinked away their tears.

Ares subtly clenched his fist and patted his lover's back with his free hand as he tried to maintain an indifferent expression.

 **The scene changed to show a park; children could be seen running and playing, the sound of their laughter echoing in the air, and on a bench sat Andrea; she kept a close eye on Lucas, who sat on another bench a few feet away surrounded by papers and crayons and toy soldiers, the latter of which he was playing with.**

"I've missed the sound of children's laughter," Demeter sighed wistfully, recalling her children when they were still babes.

The demigods, or precisely, Percy, Thalia, Jason, Nico, Hazel, Clarisse and Piper, looked traumatized as they stared at their respective parents.

Amphitrite stared hopefully at Poseidon, who responded with a wink and a muttered 'later'; Hera's hopeful look was met with uncomfortable fidgeting from Zeus. Hades and Persephone, much to Demeter's disgust, exchanged lascivious smiles, and lastly, Aphrodite squarely met Ares' lustful gaze with a suggestive sly smile.

"I need bleach for my eyes, pronto," Percy murmured as Thalia adopted a 'gag me' expression.

Jason mechanically nodded, "And once you're done, I'm next."

"Ugh. I think I'm gonna take a dip in the River Lethe once we're done here," Nico grimaced.

Hazel, Piper and Clarisse stared at the son of Hades imploringly, and simultaneously exclaimed, "Take me with you!"

Apollo and Hermes, alongside the seven demigods' friends were cracking up, tears actually streaming down their faces.

Awakened from their private reverie, Poseidon looked around, staring in confusion between Triton's nauseated expression to the seven demigods and the laughing parties. "Did we miss something?" he innocently inquired, though the mirth dancing in his eyes didn't fool anyone.

"Oh, Sei," Amphitrite giggled fondly, smacking his arm lightly.

Clarisse, her eyes clamped shut, called out, "Can we uh, please continue! _Please_!"

The seven demigods sighed with relief once their prayers were answered and the episode resumed, effectively snapping Zeus, Hera, Ares, Aphrodite, Hades and Persephone from their silent conversation.

 **"** **Mind if we join you?" Liv's voice sounded out causing Andrea's eyes to flicker over, taking in the Winchesters.**

 **Andrea jutted her head toward her son's direction, "I'm here with my son."**

 **Dean looked over at Lucas, "Oh. Mind if I say hi?" and without waiting for the appropriate response, he headed over to the little boy.**

 **Andrea observed him for a second before she met Sam and Liv's gaze. "Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing is** ** _not_** **gonna work on me."**

"Jerry Maguire?" Hecate asked.

Piper giggled, "It's this movie about a man who spends most of his time trying to charm this kid in order to get close with his mother."

"Ah, yes. Quite a befitting analogy," Ariadne laughed.

Artemis however, didn't find it amusing. "Despicable."

Rachel shot Piper a smirk and conspiratorially said, "Tom Cruise?" and she wiggled her eyebrows.

"I know! I _adore_ him!" Piper squealed, overlooking Jason's disgruntled expression.

A dreamy look graced Aphrodite's features, "Now that was one _interesting_ weekend."

Piper and Rachel gaped at the goddess of love, envy and awe warring.

"You've _been with_ Tom Cruise?" "An _entire_ weekend!" the redhead and the brunette exclaimed simultaneously.

Aphrodite winked at them, "A story for later."

The two girls nodded enthusiastically, paying no mind to Jason and Ares' irritation.

"Impossible," Artemis murmured in disgust as she glared at the love goddess.

 **Liv laughed as she took a seat next to Andrea, "Normally I'd agree with you. But Dean's not interested in that." Andrea looked at her skeptically.**

 **The scene alternated to Dean as he approached Lucas. "How's it going?" he kneeled down next to the bench. Lucas didn't look up as he continued coloring. Dean picked up a toy soldier and grinned, "Oh, I used to love these things." He imitated the sound of a gunshot and an explosion before he placed the soldier down. "So crayons is more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists."**

"Must he?" Artemis hissed. "Why is it that every time he manages to gain my favor and win my respect, he makes some lewd and wholly inappropriate comment, shattering it completely!"

Dionysus rolled his eyes, "In his defense, he doesn't know an uptight virgin goddess that loathes men is observing his every move."

The goddess of the hunt glowered at him, not amused in the slightest, unlike Apollo, Hermes and Ares, all three of whom couldn't help but chuckle.

 **The camera homed in on the drawings spread out on the bench; one was of a big black swirl, and another depicted a red bicycle.**

 **"** **Hey, these are pretty good," Dean complimented. "You mind if I sit and draw with you for a while?" He then sat on the bench beside Lucas, picked up a crayon and a pad of paper, and proceeded to draw. "You know, I'm thinking you can hear me, you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad-" Lucas paused for a second before he continued to color, "but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I saw something." A moment of silence blanketed them. "Anyway. Well, maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or, uh…or believe you. I want you to know that I will. You don't even have to say anything. You can draw me a picture about what you saw that day, with your dad on the lake." Dean shook his head and ruffled his hair as Lucas stayed quiet, "Okay, no problem. This is for you."**

 **He held out a drawing of stick figures to Lucas.**

"Why is it that, whenever somebody tries to draw something, it always ends up being stick figures?" Rachel asked in exasperation.

Leo grinned and teased, "Oh, I'm sorry, we're not all experienced artists."

The redhead sniffed, "They don't even try! They just draw a bunch of sticks on a paper and say _voila_! It's an insult I tell you!"

Apollo smiled at her, "I assume you're an artist then?"

"Painting's my life!" Rachel exclaimed in adoration.

"Very commendable. Delphi's spirit chose well when it chose to inhabit you," Apollo praised prompting Rachel's cheeks to redden slightly at the compliment.

 **"** **This is my family." As Dean listed off each member, he pointed at a stick figure, "That's my dad. That's my mom. That's my aunt. That's my geek brother. That's my mouthy cousin, and that's me."**

 **Another pause.**

 **"** **All right, so I'm a sucky artist. I'll see you around, Lucas," he left the drawing by the bench and headed back to the others.**

Hestia smiled warmly, "He's very patient with the child."

"I don't know what Sam was talking about. I think he's great with kids," Nico commented.

"And maddening when it comes to women," Artemis added under her breath.

 **Lucas picked up the picture.**

 **The scene alternated to Andrea, Liv and Sam as Dean approached them.**

 **"** **Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident," Andrea sadly informed them.**

Hermes looked grim, "Definitely a traumatized kid."

 **"** **Yeah, we heard. Sorry," Dean genuinely apologized. Andrea nodded in acknowledgment.**

 **"** **What are the doctors saying?" Sam inquired. Andrea grimaced, "That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress."**

 **Liv compassionately rubbed her back, "That can't be easy. For either of you."**

 **"** **We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It's just…when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…" Andrea trailed off, leaving an uncomfortable silence.**

"You think the kid managed to get a good look at the monster?" Katie hesitantly brought up.

Clarisse shrugged, "I'd say yeah. I mean, it would explain his behavior."

"Not necessarily," Hazel softly rebutted. "Him seeing his father get sucked into the lake and never come back up is traumatizing enough. Plus, didn't Sam mention he was on a platform for two hours before they found him?"

"It's a possibility. Though I'm gonna have to agree with Clarisse on this one," Will disclosed.

 **"** **Kids are strong," Dean finally spoke up. "You'd be surprised what they can deal with."**

 **Lucas got up and walked toward the group.**

 **"** **You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth," Andrea sniffled, a sad smile on her face. "Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men, I just wish –"**

"It's a form of therapy, actually," Apollo suddenly blurted out. "In most cases regarding traumatized children, therapists usually recommend drawing. Says it helps children sort out their feelings. It helps to heal them and it's a form of communication for them."

A shocked silence ensued.

"What?" the sun god blinked at the room.

Spluttering, Annabeth asked, "H-How do you know that?"

Apollo arched an eyebrow, a smile slowly forming on his face. He lifted his hand and pointed a finger at his temple before saying in an obvious tone, "God of Knowledge."

" _Oooooh_!" a few demigods sheepishly smiled at him.

Mortified, Annabeth looked away and hid her face in Percy's chest.

 **"** **Hey sweetie," she smiled down at her son, who was holding a picture close to his chest.**

 **He handed it over to Dean who looked stumped for a second before he quickly covered it up with a charming smile. "Thanks," he took the drawing. "Thanks Lucas."**

 **It was a drawing of the Carlton house.**

"Think he's trying to say something?" Chris chuckled.

Grover shrugged, "Maybe he just wanted to draw the house."

Apollo didn't look so sure; he leaned forward in his throne and averted his intense orbs to the screen.

 **Will Carlton stood over the sink, washing a fish. He left the water running as he began cutting it up. The water turned brown.**

"What the Hades!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Hades rolled his eyes, "Don't use my name in vain." Although he knew it was a futile attempt – _everybody_ constantly used his name in vain.

The daughter of Annabeth sheepishly looked away.

 **Noticing it, Will turned the water off.**

 **Black water started to crawl up through the drain, filling the sink. With a sigh, Will rolled up his sleeve and reached into the murky water and after a short pause, he took his hand out, plug in hand, but the water didn't drain.**

"What the Had…uh, Tartarus!" Katie started only to quickly change her exclamation upon seeing Hades' expression darken.

A hand on her chest, Demeter frantically uttered, "This definitely does not constitute as normal!"

 **He stuck his hand back in the water when all of a sudden, his hand was tugged downward, a force pulling him in. He fell into the sink and he struggled as he was cut out from oxygen until finally, he became still.**

 **The water drained and the screen turned black.**

" _No_!" Rachel cried out, her hands cupping her mouth.

Incensed, Percy snapped, " _But why_? He wasn't _anywhere near_ that damn lake!"

"However," Poseidon drew the word out, his voice heavy with disdain, "there is one component that connects all the victims with each other. Water. Each victim happened to be in close proximity of a body of water. The lake. The sink…" he trailed off angrily, furious that the element he had absolute control and divine authority over was being used to _harm_ innocents.

"Styx!" Nico hissed, his already dark orbs darkening further.

Leo chuckled nervously, the sound lacking any humor whatsoever, "So… no showers anytime soon, eh?"

"Perhaps it is some water spirit," Triton postulated. "The only connection is water, so this monster must be one that has a connection with the element."

"Or the ability to control water," Zeus sharply added, draining the temperature in the room.

The Sea God angrily stood from his throne, "Are you _insinuating_ that a child of mine is involved… is RESPONSIBLE for these attacks?"

Zeus opened his mouth to retort, but was promptly cut off by a weary voice.

"Please. Stop quarreling amongst yourselves," Hestia calmly uttered. "There is a pattern, the same one, over and over and over. First you blindly blame Hades for the woman in white, then his daughter Melinoe. Now you're pointing fingers at Poseidon. When will it end? Why won't you learn?"

A stifling silence followed.

Clearing his throat, Poseidon sat back down on his throne, "I apologize sister dearest."

Hestia smiled warmly at her brother, "It is not you that needs to apologize. And certainly not to me."

Another long silence blanketed the room before Zeus sighed loudly and grudgingly apologized to Poseidon.

 **Dean was lounging on one of the two beds in the motel room while Sam sat on the table, clicking away on his laptop. The door suddenly opened and Liv walked in, a takeout bag in hand. Both boys looked up as she tossed Dean two burgers and passed over a plastic container of salad to Sam before she plopped down beside Dean and started munching on a box of fries.**

 **"** **So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie," she said between bites.**

 **Sam walked over with his salad and sat on the opposite bed, looking concerned. Dean frowned, "What do you mean?"**

 **"** **I just drove past-"**

 **"** **Whoa, whoa! Back up.** ** _You drove_** **!" Sam exclaimed. He then turned to stare at Dean as though he had a third head, "and you** ** _let her_** **?!"**

Rachel groaned and dramatically smacked her forehead, "Don't tell me he's about to spew out that underage rubbish. She's _sixteen_. Legally, she's allowed to drive!"

Apollo smirked, comprehending the issue, "I don't think that's what Sam meant, Rachel."

"He's pissy because she drove the punk's car," Ares grunted, surprising everyone as he had been unusually silent since lunch, other than his dispute with Hera.

"Ohhh!" Rachel's eyes widened.

 **Liv threw him a deadpanned glare, "I'm sixteen, Sam!"**

 **"** **Besides," Dean added as he stole a couple of fries from Liv, earning himself a smack to the head. "How'd you think she got us food? Walked?" he chuckled.**

 **Sam opened and closed his mouth several times before he spat out, "You** ** _never_** **let anyone drive your car! Hell, you've rarely ever let me!"**

 **She rolled her eyes, "Well, I've been driving it since I was thirteen."**

 **Dean shrugged. "Someone had to teach her how to drive," he said by way of explanation.**

"I love how casual he is about it," Piper giggled.

Katie stuffed a hand in her mouth in an effort to stifle her laughter, but abysmally failed.

"I don't get it. What's so funny?" Leo asked, looking at Jason and Travis for clarification, but was instead met with two shrugs and identical clueless expressions.

In a loud whisper, Connor said, "They've lost it- _OUCH!_ Damn! Do you have to hit me so hard!" he whined, rubbing his poor abused head.

"I don't know," Piper fake pondered.

"Do you have to make fun of us?" Katie shot back.

Connor shook his head, wide eyed, "Is it a Demeter and Aphrodite thing?"

"Excuse me?" Aphrodite, Demeter, Piper and Katie yelled, glaring daggers at him.

Travis slapped a hand on his forehead, "Bro. Con man, you need to learn when to shut up."

"I've got a brain to mouth filter problem, okay? So sue me!" Connor exclaimed defensively.

 **"** **Look, how about you bitch about it later, kay? Right now, we got bigger fish to fry," Liv snapped, smacking Dean's hand away as he went to steal more fries.**

Percy adopted a sincerely solemn expression, "One does not steal another's food. It's sacrilege!"

Thalia and Jason nodded, equally serious.

"Do you think Liv meant the pun?" Leo laughed. Met with a couple of deadpanned stares, he elaborated, "You know. That guy was washing a fish before he died… and Liv said 'we got bigger fish to fry'. No?" The deadpanned stares never wavered, prompting Leo to sigh in exaggeration, "You people are hopeless."

Hermes chuckled, "Don't worry, kid. I understood the joke."

"It's just… a tad bit insensitive," Ariadne kindly explained.

 **"** **Like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," she glared at Sam, who gave her a bitch face, "I drove past the Carltons and there was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."**

 **Dean blinked at her a couple of times, "He drowned?"**

 **Liv grimaced, "** ** _In_** **the** ** _sink_** **."**

 **"** **What the hell!" Sam abandoned his salad and began pacing around the room, eyes wild as he stared between his brother and cousin.**

 **Dean sighed, "So you're right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."**

 **"** **Question is: what?" Liv grimaced.**

"Water spirit," Triton stated.

Poseidon sighed and grudgingly admitted, "Or perhaps Zeus is correct and one of my children are responsible." It was obvious that it pained Poseidon to admit it, not because of Zeus, but at the thought of his offspring murdering innocent mortals.

 **"** **I don't know. Water wraith, maybe?" Dean randomly threw out. "Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water…water that comes from the same source."**

 **"** **The lake," Liv stated, sprinkling some salt into her fries.**

 **Sam sat down again, "Which would explain why it's upping the body count. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time."**

Poseidon nodded; he had mentioned this before.

Athena scowled at the reminder.

 **"** **Ooh! Lightbulb moment!" Liv piped up through a mouthful of fries.**

"Lightbulb moment?" the Stolls chanted before bursting into laughter.

Aphrodite cooed, "She's so precious. I want to adopt her!"

" _Aphrodite_!" Ares hissed, anger lacing his tone.

A few demigods actually flinched at the menacing sound, staring warily between the couple, but Aphrodite simply rolled her eyes and waved him away, undisturbed by his wrath.

 **She quickly swallowed and said, "Water isn't the only common factor here. The Carltons are as well. I bet you** ** _anything_** **this has something to do with Bill Carlton."**

Athena looked horrified, "Why didn't I think of that? It was glaringly obvious!"

 **Dean grimaced, dropping his half-eaten burger, "Yeah, it took both his kids."**

 **"** **Uh-huh. And while I was waiting for the food, I asked around," Liv continued. "Lucas's dad. Christopher, he was Bill Carlton's godson."**

Leo made a spooky ' _du-du-du-dummm'_ sound before he spoke in an ominous tone, "And the plot thickens."

"Oh gods, you are _such_ a nerd," Piper fondly elbowed the twitchy son of Hephaestus.

"Nerds are sexy right?" Leo grinned, bouncing in his seat.

Rachel laughed, "Well your girlfriend seems to think so."

 **Dean abandoned his food and picked up his leather jacket, "Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."**

"Waste of time, if you ask me," Percy muttered.

Artemis overheard him and, cocking her head to the side, she curiously asked, "And would you say that, young man?"

Percy grimaced, "Well, he's lost both his kids in the span of a few days. He's going to be grieving. He won't be responsive."

 **Mr. Carlton sat once again on the bench on the dock.**

 **From behind him, Sam spoke up, "Mr. Carlton?" He looked up at the Winchesters. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind," he continued in a compassionate tone.**

 **"** **We're from the Department-"**

 **Mr. Carlton roughly cut Dean off, "I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today."**

"What did I tell you," Percy voiced out.

"Yup. You nailed it, amigo," Leo airily spoke up.

 **Liv took a step forward, her gorgeous face shining with compassion and when she spoke, her voice was soft, "Mr. Carlton, did you see anything? Your son said he saw something in that lake. Sophie's drowning and Will's death, there seems to be a connection to you or your family. We just want to prevent this from happening again. I can't imagine how you must be feelin-"**

 **Mr. Carlton cut in once more, but this time, he sounded broken, his dark eyes filled with grief as he squarely met Liv's gaze, "My children are** ** _gone_** **. It's…it's worse than dying. Please…just go away."**

As the grieving father spoke, every single god in the room to have ever sired a child, sucked in a sharp intake of breath, their eyes intense and fixated on the screen.

This was one of the main reasons why – or the _second_ reason why – they ignored their demigod children; it wasn't just because of the Law. They were immortal, their demigod offspring were not, and were cursed with shorter lives than mortals. They couldn't bear to build a close relationship with their offspring only for them to be harshly taken from them shortly after. For many millennia, each godly parent lost thousands and thousands of children and so they learned to build a wall between them, hoping that their loss wouldn't hit them as hard as it did in the past.

Which ultimately, was a lie. A useless venture. For no matter what, the loss of each child continued to hit them hard, despite the solid wall they built.

 **Tears welled in Liv's eyes and she bit her lower lip. She reached out and squeezed his hand before turning away, Dean and Sam shadowing her.**

"You'd have to be a heartless monster to not be affected by the man's grief," Percy murmured to his friends, watching as Rachel, Katie and Hazel swiped away a few stray tears.

 **As they stopped by the car, Sam asked, "What do you think?"**

 **"** **He's been through hell, that's what I think," Liv sighed, opening the car door and leaning against it. Dean nodded, a grimace etched on his handsome features, "Yeah, but I also think he's not telling us something."**

 **"** **So now what?" Sam asked. He did a double take when Dean went still. "What is it?"**

 **Liv straightened up, her inquisitive eyes focused on Dean who snorted, his green eyes refocusing on them, "Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something." He leaned over and grabbed a piece of paper from the backseat, smoothing it out and showing the other two the picture Lucas had drawn; the picture of the Carlton house.**

"So the kid knows something?" Jason failed in masking his surprise.

"I wouldn't be so surprised," Apollo lightly commented, his dazzling blue eyes solemn. "The young lad definitely saw something. Kids are always underestimated. So the adults end up revealing too much information around them, thinking nothing could ever come of it."

Percy nodded in agreement, "That's true."

 **The scene showed the inside of a house, Andrea stood before the Winchesters, her expression tight. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea."**

 **"** **I just need to talk to him," Dean pleaded. "Just for a few minutes."**

 **Andrea sighed, "He won't say anything. What good's it gonna do?"**

"There they go again. Underestimating a child," Apollo remarked.

Dionysus scoffed. "Mortals," he said it as though it explained _everything_ that was wrong with the world, prompting Rachel to throw him a harsh glare.

 **"** **Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there," Sam explained. Andrea shook her head in denial, "My husband, the others, they just** ** _drowned_** **. That's** ** _all_** **."**

 **Liv raised an eyebrow, "You really believe that? You believe Sophie Carlton, a varsity swimmer I might add,** ** _just_** ** _drowned_** **. Or that Will Carlton** ** _just drowned_** **in a sink?!"**

"Way to be blunt," Grover muttered.

Clarisse grinned widely, "I like her."

She really wanted to meet her older half-sister; she was already starting to look up to her. All her life, Clarisse never had anyone to look up to. Sure, she respected Percy, recognized him as a hero and a good leader. And yeah, despite everything, she loved her father and would always have his back in battle. But she never truly had an idol, a figure to look up to and after Silena died, a person to confide in. And Chris didn't count – he was her boyfriend, it was basically in the handbook.

 **Andrea faltered.**

 **Lucas sat on the floor, coloring, surrounded once again by toy soldiers. The Winchesters and Andrea appeared by the doorway. Dean walked in and crouched down by Lucas.**

 **"** **Hey, Lucas. You remember me?" Dean smiled, looking down at the drawings to see two more pictures of a red bicycle. "You know, I, uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again."**

 **The shot homed in on Lucas's drawing, showing a person in the water.**

"Definitely knows something," Apollo murmured, observing the young boy with an almost intimidating intensity.

 **Dean unfolded the drawing of the Carlton house and put it down in front of Lucas. "How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen?" When Lucas remained silent, Dean softly said, "Maybe you could nod yes or no for me."**

 **Lucas continued to color.**

"Perhaps he shouldn't push the boy. He might be rekindling bad memories. Memories best left forgotten," Ariadne suggested in worriment.

Hecate shook her head in obvious disagreement, "I don't think so, Ariadne. By the looks of it, the boy never forgot."

 **"** **You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too.**

Gasps reverberated against the walls.

Aphrodite gasped, her hands dancing to cover her mouth, "So he _did_ witness his mother's death. I always wondered… oh, the poor boy."

"The punk's perfectly fine, Aphrodite," Ares gruffly remarked, rolling his eyes.

"He could've simply mastered a mask of indifference, _Ares_ ," the love goddess pointedly retorted.

Ares scowled and looked away – message received loud and clear.

 **I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom – I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too," Dean concluded, sounding hopeful.**

 **Lucas dropped his crayon and for the first time, established eye contact with Dean. Looking back down at the clutter of drawings, he picked one up and handed it over.**

"Well. I'll be damned. Dean's a kid whisperer," Hermes chuckled

Piper sighed, "Wish we could borrow him for a day. He'd probably work wonders with Lacy." Her baby sister was suffering through nightmares that revolved around Gaea and the Giants, and she could really use a miracle worker. Not just that, but Lacy's deathly terrified of Drew, despite Piper's constant reassurances.

Aphrodite sharply looked over at Piper at the mention of one of her youngest daughters, "Lacy? What's wrong with my little girl?"

"Uh, later?" she hesitantly asked.

Holding eye contact for a while longer, Aphrodite finally conceded with a nod, though her eyes held a warning and her tone was firm, "We _will_ discuss this, Piper. Don't even think about trying to evade me."

"Okay," Piper squeaked, losing her confidence. Who knew Aphrodite was a fierce Momma-Bear. She'd give Hera and Athena a run for their drachmas with the current face she was sporting.

 **The camera zoomed in on the drawing: a white church, a yellow house, and a boy with a blue baseball cap and a red bicycle standing in front of a wooden fence.**

 **The scene changed, showing the Impala driving down the road. Dean sat in the driver seat, and in the passenger seat, Sam held Lucas's drawing. Behind them, in the backseat, Liv was pouring through John's journal that sat on her lap, a Red Bull in hand.**

"Why must she torture us!" Connor dramatically wailed, the palm of his hands flat against his cheeks.

Travis shook his head, "The world is cruel!"

Katie rolled her eyes, "Maybe if you hadn't drank three in one setting and trashed the camp there wouldn't have been a ban in the _first_ place."

Hermes chuckled fondly at his sons.

Zeus however, leaned in to whisper something in Hera's ear, "Hide all the energy drinks from Hermes' boys. We don't want any… _accidents_."

Wide-eyed, Hera hastily nodded her agreement before she passed on the message to Hestia, who laughed airily in response.

 **"** **Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died," Dean was saying.**

 **Sam looked pensive for a moment. "There are cases – going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies."**

 **Liv looked up sharply, eyes wide before she shook her hand and looked back down at the journal.**

Suspicion arose upon seeing Liv's violent reaction to Sam's statement.

"Is that true? What Sam said?" Annabeth asked Apollo.

The sun god flashed his pearly whites, nearly blinding the demigods and Grover in the process. "Children are very intuitive. At such a tender age, they're more open to believing in the supernatural, which is why nine times out of ten, the Mist won't work on them."

"Like that kid," Percy snapped his fingers in remembrance, looking from Grover to Annabeth and back again. "Remember? She saw me come out of the Mississippi River and told her mother that I was dry. She saw through the Mist."

Annabeth fumed, "And her mother ignored her."

"Uh, it's a good thing, Annabeth. Percy was already a known fugitive at the time, we didn't need any more unwanted attention to ourselves," Grover pointed out, making Percy chuckle at Annabeth's sheepish expression.

"I'm sorry. I must have overheard. Did you say 'wanted fugitive'?" Poseidon asked in a voice of forced calm.

Percy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he blinked innocently at his father. Triton had to blink a couple of times to ensure that he wasn't seeing things, as Percy's attempt to appear innocent looked eerily similar to his attempts when he was a child, and they never worked on Poseidon.

"You see, uh, well, it's actually, kinda a, well, uh, it's a funny story really," he stammered out, ignoring his friends' muffled laughter.

Ares leaned forward, interested, "Spit it out, punk."

"It's just monster attacks you know. The Mist always works against me," Percy pouted.

"Not to forget Ugly Gabe was an ass!" Nico smirked.

The name seemed familiar to Poseidon. "Your stepfather?"

"Ex," Percy blurted out, waving a dismissive hand while shooting an unapologetic Nico a glare of promised retribution. "Yeah so really. It's not my fault. I was an innocent bystander throughout all of it. But it worked out in the end, so it's no big deal."

Apollo burst into laughter, "Oh, Perce, Perce, Perce. You're a troublemaker, aren't you?"

" _Technically_ , it's not my fault," Percy remarked.

"Then whose fault is it?" Zeus arched an eyebrow.

Percy stared pointedly at Poseidon, and confidently stated, "The sea doesn't like to be restrained."

Amphitrite lost it and started laughing as both Poseidon and Triton's jaw dropped. They used the same excuse every time to get out of trouble and karma came to bite Poseidon in the ass. In fact, everyone but Poseidon, Triton and Percy collapsed into a laughing fit.

"Not so nice when you're on the receiving end of that excuse now, is it, darling," Amphitrite mockingly cooed.

The Sea God sighed, "You're enjoying this too much, Amphitrite." She didn't bother disagreeing.

"Percy's always getting into all sorts of trouble," Connor grinned cheekily.

Travis nodded and airily announced, "He can't help it."

"Shut up you two," the son of Poseidon scowled. "Thalia, Nico and Jason are the same."

"Woah, don't bring us into this, Seaweed Brain," Thalia scowled.

Zeus and Hades abruptly stopped laughing and Poseidon shot them a smug smile. They were in the same boat as him now.

 **"** **Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow? I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please," Dean sounded extremely agitated.**

 **Sam looked at the drawing, "All right, we got another house to find."**

 **"** **The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone," Dean remarked. Liv promptly shut the journal and leaned forward in her seat, "Not one next to that specific church, genius."**

 **Dean rolled his eyes and teased, "Oh, the high school dropout thinks she's so smart."**

 **Liv shot him a pointed look, "Says the high school dropout himself."**

"I don't see what there is to be proud of," Athena scowled, unimpressed by the exchange.

 **Sam hesitantly looked at Dean from the corner of his eye, "You know, um…what you said about Mom…You never told me that before."**

 **Liv awkwardly looked away and took a long swig of her drink as Dean uncomfortably shrugged, "It's no big deal."**

"On the contrary. It's a _very_ big deal," Persephone sharply contradicted him.

 **Seeing that Sam was still staring at him, Dean put on a cocky smirk, "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?"**

 **Sam rolled his eyes and Liv chuckled.**

"It's like they're allergic to feelings," Frank remarked.

Hazel nodded, "Well, not Sam. But Dean and Liv? Definitely."

Ares made a soft humming noise that only Aphrodite could hear. ' _I guess the little runt managed to inherit one thing from me,_ ' he thought.

 **Dean, Sam and Liv scrutinized the white church in front of them before Dean held up Lucas's drawing and compared them to each other. A yellow house was positioned next to the church and a wooden gate in front of the house.**

 **"** **Bingo," Liv sang. They then proceeded to cross the street to the yellow house and Dean knocked on the door.**

 **Next, the screen showed the interior of a house; the Winchesters were inside – Sam and Liv sitting on the couch opposite to an old woman while Dean remained standing.**

 **"** **We're sorry to bother you, ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance?" Dean asked. "He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."**

 **The old woman shook her head, her expression one of grief, "No sir. Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now."**

"What's this got to do with the drownings?" Nico muttered harshly.

Thalia nudged him, "Shh! We're getting to that."

"You're so bossy," he grumbled.

"And you're so talkative," she shot back.

Jason huffed, "Would you both shut up!"

"Hey, I'm older than you. Don't tell me to shut up," Thalia smirked.

Nico scoffed, gaping at Thalia is disbelief, "If that's the case then both of you shut up about telling _me_ to shut up, I'm older than the both of you combined."

"Is that so?" Hazel arched an eyebrow at the three of them, her expression stern. "Then all three of you shut up! I'm older than _you_. _Hah_!"

Apollo leaned forward to whisper in Hermes' ear, "Is it just me, or do our kids get weirder as the times change?"

Hermes assessed his response by scrutinizing the four demigods bickering with each other. He suddenly nodded, "Nah, it's not just you."

" _Quiet_!" Hera finally cut into their childish dispute, glaring at Thalia in particular, who glared right back.

Hestia sighed, "Let us continue. Yes?"

No one dared to argue with the eldest Olympian, not even Hera.

 **The camera homed in on a picture frame on a side table, portraying a young boy.**

"I'm guessing that's Peter," Leo pointed out the obvious.

Dionysus rolled his eyes, "As you teenagers say, well _duh_!"

 **"** **The police never –** ** _I_** **never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared," the old woman cried out, dabbing her face with a handkerchief.**

 **Sam softly elbowed Liv and looked pointedly at Dean before jutting his head toward dozens of toy soldiers on a table.**

 **"** **Losing him," the old woman continued, "you know, it's…it's worse than dying."**

 **Liv sucked in a sharp breath.**

So did the majority in the room.

"Alright… kind of a, well, specific choice of words, don't you think?" Rachel hesitantly pointed out.

Hades shook his head, "I don't believe this to be a mere coincidence."

"So what? That old lady is responsible for all the drownings?" Leo inquired, his face solemn.

"Oh gods," Thalia gaped at him in shock, and she wasn't the only one. "Did you get dropped on your head as a child?"

Leo didn't look insulted. He shrugged, "Eh, maybe. I couldn't tell you 'cause I don't know."

Hephaestus paused with his tinkering to stare at his son, an incomprehensible glint in his eyes, though Leo could have sworn he saw his lips twitch up in a smile.

 **"** **Mrs. Sweeney, did- did he disappear from this house? Was he taken?" Liv inquired.**

 **She fervently shook her head, "He was supposed to ride his bike** ** _straight home_** **after school, and he never showed up." Her voice cracked towards the end.**

"How horrible," Piper gasped.

Katie nodded, compassion palpable on her face, "I think, I mean, I'm not a mother, but… the worst thing possible is the waiting, you know? Not knowing what happened, never getting closure."

"Precisely," Demeter agreed with her daughter, a familiar glint in her eyes as she glared at Hades. "Not knowing where your precious and beloved daughter is. Just _vanishes_ one day without a trace, not to be seen or heard of again for _months_!"

"Blasted woman!" Hades exclaimed, rubbing his temples in irritation. "And they say my biggest flaw is my inability to let go of a grudge. Hah!" he sarcastically laughed.

Looks were exchanged all over the room.

"He does make a good point actually," Annabeth commented.

Demeter's hand flew to her chest, staring wide eyed at everyone, shocked at the betrayal. "Well, I never-"

"Tell you what, Demeter?" Poseidon prefaced, an impish smile on his face and a mischievous glint in his eyes that had everyone but Hermes and Apollo regard him with wary trepidation. "If you could last one day, _just one_ , without making a reference to Persephone's kidnapping, then we shall apologize. What do you say?"

Demeter eyed her brother for a moment before she grinned widely, "I say… you've got yourself a deal, brother."

Simultaneously, one thought reverberated in everyone but Demeter's head: _she's going to lose_ …

 **Dean grabbed a picture of two boys that was sticking out of the mirror. One was definitely Peter, his hand holding the handle of a red bicycle, and the other boy was unfamiliar. He flipped the picture around and read the inscription on the back, "Peter Sweeney and Bill Carlton, nineteen seventy."**

 **"** **Well, I'll be damned," Liv murmured, staring at Dean with wide eyes.**

"And the drachma finally dropped," Apollo announced.

"Another ghost?" Thalia asked, uncertain.

Nico grumbled, his lips parted as he prepared to rant, but Hazel leaned forward and clapped a hand over his mouth. "Nico, you gotta stop being in denial."

"Yeah. It's not just a river in Egypt!" Connor joked. "Get it?"

Everyone simply stared at him.

"Wow, tough crowd," he murmured, scowling at Travis who was smirking at him.

 **The scene shifted; Bill still sat on the same bench on the dock, eyes boring into the lake as he spoke to himself. "You've taken** ** _everything_** **,** ** _everyone_** **. I've got** ** _nothing_** **left. I didn't understand. I didn't believe. Now I think I do. I think I finally know what to do."**

"Okay, ominous alert," Leo said, a tremble in his voice.

 **The scene alternated; Dean was speeding down the road, his hand gripping the steering wheel tightly.**

 **"** **Okay. Recap," Liv spoke up from the backseat, her arms folded on Dean and Sam's headrest. "So, little Peter Sweeney vanishes into thin air, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow."**

 **"** **Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean pointed out in an 'I told you so' tone.**

 **Sam carried on their line of thought, "And Bill, the people he loves, they're all getting punished."**

"They're really good at connecting the dots," Travis remarked.

"And finishing each other's sentences," Connor added.

Then, at the same time, the Stolls said, "It's like they have a telepathic link."

"And you two are doing the _exact_ same thing," Percy pointed out with a smirk.

 **Dean grimaced, "So what if Bill did something to Peter?"**

 **"** **What if Bill killed him?" Sam darkly inquired.**

 **"** **I smell a vengeful spirit, boys," Liv stated, drumming her fingers against her forearm.**

Triton tilted his head, "That's a new one."

"Are you kidding me?" Nico looked ready to explode. "First, ghosts are somehow roaming around _without_ , I might add, a summoner. And now, _now_ , they're telling us that there are different _types_ of ghosts? I mean, _come on_!"

Hades sighed; he too was having a hard time believing it and accepting the astronomical change in perspective, but unlike his son, he knew how to reel it in, collect all the information and process it quietly.

"Nico, _chill_ ," Percy patted his back. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation to all this. You just gotta be patient."

The son of Hades scoffed, "Patient. I can do that. Patience."

Thalia rolled her eyes, "Oh please. Patient is _not_ your middle name, Death Breath."

"And it's yours?" Nico arched an eyebrow at her, a mocking smirk on his face.

She childishly stuck her tongue out and looked away.

 **The Impala pulled up in front of the Carlton house. Next, the screen showed the Winchesters approach the house, calling out for Bill Carlton.**

 **The sound of an engine roaring permeated the air.**

Poseidon paled, instantly recognizing the source of the noise. "Oh dear."

"What is it?" Zeus impatiently inquired.

Nico smirked over at Thalia, who huffed and looked away. "And she calls me impatient," he scoffed. "She inherited it from her father in spades." He made sure that the gods couldn't hear him, and they all had to work hard to stifle their laughter, especially when Thalia shoved Nico away from her, making him fall face first into the ground.

"A boat," Poseidon answered with a sigh. "That engine belongs to a boat."

 **"** **Mr. Carlton!** ** _No_** **!" Liv yelled as she hastened to the dock, Dean and Sam not far behind.**

 **Dean cupped his hands over his mouth and called out, "Mr. Carlton! You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!"**

 **Bill Carlton ignored the Winchesters as they incessantly yelled for him to turn around. The water rose high up in the air and flipped the boat over, both it and Bill Carlton vanishing as the water relaxed.**

The tension in the room was high with the latest death. The fact that this was no mere work of fiction created by the overactive mind of a skilled writer, but a real life documentary, one of a demigod, the daughter of an Olympian and all the hardships she came and would come across. Episodes that revolved around real people, mortals out there in America getting killed by monsters and ghosts, creatures the gods themselves, who had existed for many millennia, never even knew existed. It made everything more horrifying and… _real_.

"Well," Hermes broke the uncomfortable silence. "That's the last Carlton."

Ares shook his head and quickly pointed out, "There's no proof the geezer killed the little punk in the first place."

"Yes but _if_ Bill Carlton _is_ somehow responsible for Peter's disappearance or death – whatever – then the attacks should stop, shouldn't it? There are no Carlton's left," Ariadne inquired, meeting the others' dubious stares.

"There's too much guesswork involved, Aria. I think we should just wait and see what the Winchesters find out," Aphrodite settled the matter.

"Hey!" Leo suddenly exclaimed, staring at a confused Rachel with wide eyes. "Your prediction came true!"

Arching an eyebrow at him, the redhead asked, " _What_ prediction? When did I make a prediction? I don't remember making a prediction."

"Yes you did," Leo stubbornly refuted. "In the beginning… when we first saw the Carltons. _You said_ that either one or all of them will die. _Remember_?"

The sound of flesh against flesh echoed in the throne room as nearly every single demigod slapped a hand to their forehead.

"Oh gods, Leo! I didn't mean it _literally_!" Rachel exclaimed, not knowing whether she should laugh or seriously consider getting Apollo or Dionysus to check on his mental state.

Leo shrugged, "Still. It came true. It's impressive."

Thalia patted her shoulder and shook her head, "Leave it, honey. He's hopeless."

 **The scene shifted, showing the interior of the Sheriff's office. Lucas was sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth, and Andrea sat next to him, a plastic bag and container in hand. She was staring down at her son in concern, "Baby, what's wrong?"**

"The kid's too connected with this spirit," Apollo remarked, something about his voice evoking concern around the room.

Rachel gasped, emerald orbs piercing the dazzling blue that belonged to her patron, "Are you… you don't mean… Lucas _isn't_ next, is he?"

The sun god grimaced, hating the next words that came out of his mouth, "It's a likely possibility, I'm afraid."

"But he's innocent! He's just a child!" Annabeth looked furious, and rightfully so.

 **The door opened, the Sheriff and the Winchesters entering the room.**

 **Andrea looked surprised to see them, "Dean, Olivia, Sam." She stood up and put her bag and the container on her chair, "I didn't expect to see you here."**

 **"** **So now you're on a first-name basis. What are you doing here?" the Sheriff grunted at his daughter.**

 **"** **I brought you dinner."**

Hera pointedly glared at Ares and Hephaestus, "Now there's a child who _respects_ and _appreciates_ a parent!"

"I'm pretty sure he didn't drop her from a plane," Ares bluntly pointed out, biting back a smirk.

"GET OVER IT ALREADY!" she shrieked, her face becoming purple with rage.

Hephaestus exchanged a conspiratorial smile with his brother before resuming with his tinkering.

"Stop commenting on our lack of respect towards you and we will," Ares casually flipped his pocket knife in the air and then expertly twirled it around his fingers.

Frothing at the mouth, Hera moved forward, probably to gouge his eyes out, but was promptly halted by Zeus, who wearily gripped her wrist and dragged her back to her throne, not even bothering to speak a word.

"You know," Annabeth whispered in Percy's ear, "All of a sudden, Ares is growing on me."

Percy laughed, muffling the sound in Annabeth's wild curls.

 **Sheriff Devins gave her a tired smile, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't really have the time."**

 **"** **I heard about Bill Carlton. Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?" Andrea didn't move an inch as she demanded answers. Sheriff Devins sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, "Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home."**

 **Lucas whined, his expression stricken and he jumped out of his seat to grab ahold of Dean's arm.**

Persephone looked sad, "The poor dear. Whatever is the matter?"

 **"** **Lucas, hey, what is it?" Dean looked over at him in concern. "Lucas?"**

 **"** **Lucas?" Andrea stared at her son, worried. Dean tried to calm him down until she pulled Lucas away from him and led him outside. The entire time, Lucas kept looking over his shoulder at Dean with wide eyes.**

All eyes were on Apollo, waiting expectantly for a plausible explanation.

"Right," he nervously chuckled. "Lucas. Definitely has a connection to the ghost. How? I don't know, so don't ask. What's up with the kid? I'm guessing he received a warning regarding the next attack."

"Sooo… he has premonitions then?" Leo asked.

The sun god shook his head. "Nah. Whatever this is… all of this, it's all connected to whatever happened to him when he witnessed his father drown. But then again… things we believed to be impossible are apparently possible," he pointed out, waving his hand over at the screen to further prove his point. "So maybe I'm wrong. I can't tell you for sure."

"Hello, vague," Rachel muttered.

 **Sheriff Devins tossed his jacket aside and rounded his desk. "Okay, just so I'm clear, you see…** ** _something_** **attack Bill's boat, sending Bill – who is a very good swimmer, by the way – into the drink, and you never see him again?" the skepticism could be heard loud and clear.**

 **"** **Uh,** ** _excuse me_** **. I seem to recall telling you the** ** _exact_** **same thing when you listed off Sophie's case as an 'accidental drow-" Dean silenced Liv with a look. Grudgingly, she stepped back and folded her arms tight.**

"She's a real spitfire," Poseidon laughed heartily.

"She does make a decent point though," Athena divulged. "That mortal basically contradicted himself."

 **Dean smiled winsomely at the Sheriff, "That about sums it up."**

 **He arched an eyebrow at the Winchesters, his expression incredulous. "And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake? And what you're describing is impossible? And you're not really Wildlife Service?" he sprung the last one without warning that they utterly failed in masking their surprise.**

"How in the Ha-… _world_ did he know that?" Piper asked in shock.

 **Upon seeing their surprised expressions, he grunted, "That's right. I checked. Department's never heard of you three."**

 **"** **It's a top secret division," Liv swiftly put in.**

Rachel pursed her lips and shook her head, "He ain't buying it, hun."

"But nice try," Connor added with a grin.

Travis smirked and elbowed his brother, "Please try again."

Connor smirked in comprehension.

 **"** **Enough. Please," the Sheriff huffed, his stern gaze flickering between the three hunters. "The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors** ** _saw him_** **steering out that boat just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance.** ** _Or_** **, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you never darken my doorstep again."**

Dionysus scoffed from behind his magazine, "Ingrate."

A few looks of surprise were aimed at the face hidden behind the magazine.

"Are you… are you _defending_ the Winchesters?" Apollo asked, unable to contain his shock.

"Don't be ridiculous. I am _merely_ stating the obvious," Dionysus snorted.

Ariadne winked at the bewildered spectators, knowing full well that her husband had indeed adopted a soft spot for the three hunters, not that he would _ever_ admit it out loud… _yet_.

 **There was a short pause of silence.**

 **"** **Door number two sounds good," Sam quickly replied, hastening toward the door.**

 **Sheriff Devins nodded, "That's the one I'd pick."**

 **Liv stood rooted in her spot before she snorted and shook her head. The moment she shut the door behind her, she hissed to Dean and Sam, "This is why I** ** _hate_** **cops. Nothing but a bunch of ungrateful bastards."**

"Yes," Artemis pursed her lips into a stern line. "The last officer she confronted tried to seduce and take advantage of her."

Aphrodite cocked her head in confusion, her eyes focused on Ares before she shook her head and turned away. She could have _sworn_ she heard a loud grinding sound.

Unbeknownst to her, Ares was grinding his teeth together in frustration.

 **The scene shifted once again. Lucas sat in his room drawing black spirals. Andrea walked in, dressed in a robe, "Baby, what are you doing up? Come on. Let's go to bed."**

 **It alternated to the Impala waiting at a traffic light.**

"I've a bad feeling," Frank stated.

His statement was echoed by nearly everyone in the throne room.

 **The light turned green. The Impala didn't move.**

 **"** **Green," Sam remarked.**

 **Dean was jolted out of his thoughts, "What?"**

 **"** **Light's green," Sam echoed.**

 **The Impala turned right.**

"He's going the wrong way," Leo observed.

Jason chuckled and patted him on the back, "We know buddy."

"You don't have to state the obvious," Piper teased him.

 **"** **Uh, the interstate's the other way," Sam commented, bemused.**

"So did he!" Leo pointed at Sam.

Piper clucked her tongue, "There you go, stating the obvious again."

"Wow, you're annoying," Leo breathed out.

An airy laugh escaped the daughter of Aphrodite's lips, "Pot meet kettle."

"Please, for the love of all that's holy, both of you stop it," Percy pleaded, prompting the aforementioned two to exchange high-fives and laugh.

 **Liv, who's head had been leaning against the headrest, face up, her beanie covering her face, jerked forward, freeing her face and displaying a knowing smirk, "I was wondering how long it'd take for that epiphany to hit you, Deanie."**

 **Sam shook his head fondly. Dean scowled at her from the rearview mirror, "Don't call me that,** ** _Ollie_** **."**

 **Her amused expression dropped. "I am** ** _so_** **gonna kick your ass if you** ** _ever_** **call me that again," she hissed.**

Thalia looked horrified, "I would too! What sort of nickname is _that_?"

"She had it coming," Jason defended Dean. "I mean, Liv started it. What kind of nickname is 'Deanie'?"

"A hell of a lot better than _Ollie_!" she retorted.

"Says who?!"

"Says _me_!"

"You know nothing!"

"I know more than you!"

"Oh yeah? This coming from someone who lived as a pine tree for _seven years_!"

"At least I wasn't raised by wolves!"

"I was raised by the _wolf goddess_! There's a difference."

"And my transformation into a tree wasn't permanent!"

"Why are we arguing?!"

"I don't know! I can't remember!"

"Then let's stop yelling!"

"You stop yelling!"

"No, _you_!"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Percy, Annabeth and Nico bellowed.

An awkward silence blanketed the Grace siblings as they sheepishly averted the many gazes they could feel burning a hole through them.

"Well. This is uh, _awkward_ ," Thalia let out a nervous giggle.

"What the Styx was that?" Apollo gawked at them.

"Siblings squabbling. It _does_ run in the family after all," Dionysus clarified, his wine magazine nowhere in sight. He had, in fact, gotten rid of it the moment the siblings started to argue, enjoying the entertainment they presented. _'_ _If only I could enjoy it with a glass of wine.'_

Zeus finally managed to lift his jaw and snap his mouth shut, "That was… _interesting_."

Thalia and Jason shrunk in their respective seats, trying to make themselves smaller.

The dam broke: Poseidon burst into a prolonged fit of intense, uncontrollable laughter, and like the domino effect, one by one, everybody else joined in. All but the Grace siblings who looked extremely miffed.

A couple of minutes later, once the laughter had subsided, the episode resumed where they had left off.

 **Back to Andrea; she stood in the bathroom. Leaning forward, she plugged the drain of her bathtub and turned the water on.**

"Oh she's _got to_ be kidding me! _Seriously_!" Rachel screeched indignantly.

"Taking a shower is routine, Rach. It's part of a human being's basic necessities. It's not like she expects her bathtub to attack her," Percy pointed out in exasperation, his head still ringing due to Thalia and Jason's extremely loud and _totally unnecessary_ argument.

Rachel glowered at him, "The guy, Will, was basically strangled by his sink!"

"She didn't know that," Percy retorted.

Clarisse slapped a hand to her forehead, "Don't you two start!"

 **The scene alternated back to the Impala.**

 **"** **But, this job, I think it's over," Sam was saying.**

 **Dean shook his head, "I'm not so sure."**

 **"** **If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest," Sam argued. Liv put a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Sam, I feel like we're missing something. Something important. We make a mistake, people end up hurt. Now I don't know what Dean's deal is, but me? I'm not listening to my brain, but my instincts. Its telling me the case isn't closed, Sammy."**

" _Always_ trust your instincts. It could very well save your lives," Athena announced, her startling gray eyes connecting with the identical ones of her daughter's.

Nico looked bemused, "I thought it was 'listen to your head and not your heart'?"

" _Heart_ and _instinct_ are not synonymous, son of Hades," Athena scowled.

Outraged, and more than insulted, Aphrodite glared daggers at the goddess of wisdom. "I beg your pardon? I'll have you know that the correct phrase _is_ to follow your _heart_ , but to take your brain with you, _thank you very much_ ," she sneered.

"It most certainly is not!" Athena snapped, an almost identical sneer on her face.

A derisive laugh emanated from Aphrodite, "Right. I forgot. You don't _have_ a heart. You're a brain child, and you don't even have half a brain!"

"WHY YOU-" Athena moved to stand, but the sharp tip of a sword nearly impaled her face.

"Stand down, Athena," Ares growled menacingly, though his flaming sockets dilated with excitement at the prospect of a fight.

…she did not.

Meanwhile, while the gods bellowed at one another, Hestia, Zeus and Poseidon stepping in to prevent the full-blown fight between Athena, Ares and Aphrodite, Annabeth was being restrained by Percy and Thalia. The daughter of Athena didn't appreciate Aphrodite's quip in regards to brain child's having no hearts.

"Wise Girl, this is between the gods. Aphrodite wasn't referring to you, it's just her rivalry with your mother," Percy hastily informed her in hushed tones.

Thalia nodded rapidly, "Remember what happened the last time you ticked off a god? Hera sent a herd of cows after you! And you reeked of dung for _weeks_. Just… don't take it personally."

Piper decided it was safe to join the trio, and she smiled reassuringly at the irascible blonde, "If it makes you feel any better, my Mom sensed your bond with Percy. She could see your love bond. _Trust me_ , she wasn't talking about you."

The blonde appeared to be relatively calmer, so Percy went for the kill. "Besides, Aphrodite's our biggest fan. Apparently we have a tragic love story," Percy rolled his eyes with a smile.

The three girls simply stared at Percy; Thalia's mouth had dropped open, her electric eyes wide with shock; Piper put a hand on her cheek and kept shaking her head in a mixture of 'I am disappointed in you' and 'for the love of god, _stop talking_ '. Bright side? All Annabeth's frustration melted away, and she was blinking bewilderedly at him.

"What?" he asked, honestly confused.

"Your brain is _seriously_ full of kelp, Seaweed Brain," Thalia spoke up, but she didn't sound rough, more matter-of-fact, like she was doing him a favor by explaining how dumb he is.

Before Percy could stick his foot in his mouth again, Piper softly explained, "Perce, you basically implied that your relationship with Annabeth was doomed to end badly. _Tragic_?"

The daughter of Athena couldn't help but giggle at Percy's reaction. He immediately pulled her into his arms and rubbed her arms, "No, no, no. I didn't mean it like _that_! I swear. The tragic part passed already, what with both wars and my abduction. We're past the tragic part, _way_ past it."

Annabeth craned her neck up and kissed Percy on his jaw, "Thank you, Percy."

Thalia and Piper stifled their laughter when Percy let out a loud sigh of relief.

Inspecting their surroundings, they realized that World War III had been prevented; while Athena and Aphrodite were still glaring daggers at each other, their faces flushed red with fury, they were seated on their thrones and their weapons, including Ares', was safely tucked away. The god of war looked a little put out at the lack of fight, but despite that, a smug smile was planted on his face and he had a protective arm around his lover, glaring at Athena in warning.

 **Sam simply stared at Liv, taking in her determined state and nodded. He then looked at Dean, waiting for his reason.**

 **"** **Lucas was really scared, Sam," he said, not taking his eyes off the road. "I don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay."**

 **Sam raised an eyebrow, staring at his brother in disbelief, "Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?" Liv laughed from the back and Dean shot him a look, "Shut up."**

 **Back to Andrea; the bathtub was almost full. Andrea dipped a hand in and then took off her robe and went inside, the shot focusing on her face until she was fully submerged in the water.**

Artemis nodded in approval, glad that the woman's decency had been respected. Her twin on the other hand, was pouting, obviously put out over being denied the view of a woman's flesh, prompting an impressive sneer to materialize on her face as she glowered at Apollo.

 **She leaned back, grabbed a washcloth and closed her eyes. Unseen to her, the water still running from the faucet morphed from transparent to a murky brown.**

"No. No, come on. No," Rachel whined, placing both her balled fists over her mouth.

"This is exactly what happened to Will," Jason observed, his brow furrowed with worry.

Leo let loose a nervous chuckle, "Speaking of Will…kind of ironic don't you think? He told the Winchesters that his sister was as safe in the lake as in her own bathtub and _lo and behold_ -" Instead of completing his sentence, he waved a hand at the screen.

"Irony. Gotta love it," Percy muttered to himself.

 **She started washing herself with the cloth and slowly opened her eyes.**

"About time!" Clarisse grunted rudely, though all her friends could hear the concern hidden under her usual mask of violence.

 **The water was entirely brown. She screamed in alarm and attempted to jump out of the tub, but an invisible force dragged her down.**

 **Outside the bathroom, in the hallway, Lucas was pounding on the door.**

"Come on. He can't be a witness to his mother's death too. Come on, where are they!?" Percy was getting worked up, impatient for the Winchesters to arrive.

 **The shot alternated back to the bathroom; Andrea's head was pulled under the water but she quickly pulled herself out, only to be submerged again. The process repeating again.**

"She's a fighter," Artemis acknowledged, and while her tone was neutral, her silver eyes belied the fear and concern for the mother's life.

 **Lucas's constant pounding on the door could be heard as Andrea disappeared under the water.**

 **The screen showed the exterior of the house; the Impala was parked and the Winchesters were approaching the front door.**

"About time!" Clarisse and Percy cried out. They blinked. Stared at each other, glared slightly, blinked again, and then looked away.

 **"** **Are you sure about this?" Sam still seemed hesitant. "It's pretty late, man."**

Thalia growled, her patience reaching its limit for the day, "Someone _please_ smack him."

 **Instead of answering, Dean rang the doorbell. Almost instantaneously, the door swung open, a desperate and frightened Lucas staring up at them with wide and watery eyes.**

 **"** **Lucas?" Dean asked, at the same time Liv cried out, "Lucas sweetie, what is it?"**

 **The little boy took off, the Winchesters immediately taking chase.**

"Please don't tell me they're too late," Rachel's words were muffled by her balled fists.

In fact, nobody had anything to say, all of them staring wide-eyed at the screen.

 **Water could be seen leaking into the hallway from the gap under the bathroom door, reaching the stairs.**

 **"** **Holy-" horrified, Liv sucked in a sharp breath and ran forward with Dean and Sam, stopping behind Lucas as he continued to pound on the door. Dean pushed him into Sam's arm and kicked down the door. Lucas reached out for Dean, scared to let him go. Liv rushed in, "Stay back!"**

"Good, good. At least Olivia has the forethought to preserve the woman's decency," Artemis hummed.

Apollo raised an eyebrow, gaping at his twin, "Seriously? Who cares about decency at a time like this?"

Hestia sent them a warning look, halting Artemis' retort.

 **She quickly plunged her arms into the bathtub and attempted to pull Andrea up, but the unseen force was apparently too strong. Liv, her face twisted in concentration, put more force into her hands and with one last tug, pulled Andrea up all the way. As Andrea coughed up water, Liv grabbed the discarded robe from the floor and covered her up.**

 **The shot focused on Liv's wide-eyed expression before the screen turned black.**

Multiple breaths of relief permeated the air and many tensed postures sagged.

"That was close," Frank sighed as he traced soothing circles on Hazel's back.

Percy nodded, " _Too_ close."

"This _ghost_ ," Poseidon prefaced, a contemplative expression on his handsome face, "based on the evidence shown until now, its method of attack is by drowning its victims. I strongly believe the Limnades simply abandoned their post because of the haunting. Either that or the upcoming demolition of the lake."

Amphitrite, her face shining with worry, stared at her husband with hopeful eyes, "So they are alive and well."

Poseidon smiled and lifted her hand to his mouth, chastely kissing her inner wrist. "Yes, my dear. They are alive and well. They cannot perish of drowning," he reminded her with a chuckle. "Nevertheless," like whiplash, his expression and the tone he used turned grave, "I shall personally see to it, that the lake thrives."

"It won't make a difference with that ghost presiding in the lake, brother," Demeter warned him.

Hestia smiled warmly, "Then let us see how Dean, Sam and Olivia gets rid of it, and we learn from them."

Zeus grumbled at the mere thought of _learning_ from mortals and a demigod, but not wanting to face his eldest sister's ire, smartly kept his mouth firmly shut and his thoughts to himself.

 **Sam, Liv and Andrea were congregated in the living room, and by the looks of it, dawn was breaking. Andrea was currently dry and dressed in baggy sweatpants and a simple t-shirt; she was still shaking with fright and Liv kept rubbing her back in an effort to calm her.**

 **"** **Can you tell us?" Sam inquired softly. She shook her head and the shot alternated to show Dean perusing through a couple of notebooks stacked on a bookshelf before it promptly returned to the trio. "It doesn't make** ** _any_** **sense," Andrea breathed out, a tremor in her voice.**

"That's what they all say," Dionysus dryly stated before he conjured a can of Diet Coke and took a hearty sip.

Ares grunted, "Before they end up dead."

"Oh great, we got another one," Hermes dramatically groaned as he looked between Ares and Dionysus.

"I'm stating the facts," Ares pointed out with a growl.

Dionysus smirked, quickly rearranging his expression into a mask of boredom as he nonchalantly said, "That's what I keep telling them."

Ariadne and Aphrodite shared a commiserating look before diverting their attention to the screen.

 **She started to cry, fat tears running down her face, one after the other, "I'm going crazy." She covered her face and cried into her hands.**

 **Still rubbing her back, Liv shared a grimace with Sam and said, "No, you're not. Trust me, Andrea."**

 **"** **Tell us what happened. Everything," Sam cajoled.**

"What's there to tell?" Leo snapped, bewildered. "An invisible force tried to drown her in her bathtub."

"Yes, but perhaps the victims all _saw_ something _before_ they drowned. Andrea is the first victim to survive," Hecate disclosed in a professorial tone.

 **Slowly, Andrea, her voice still shaking, said, "I heard…I thought I heard…there was this** ** _voice_** **."**

 **"** **What did it say?" Sam leaned forward, curious.**

 **But to both Sam and Andrea's surprise, Liv answered in hushed tones, "Come play with me."**

"What?" was echoed in the room.

 **"** **How did you-, yes, exactly. But how-" Andrea stammered in shock, eyes beseeching Liv's while Sam stared at her in surprise. Liv shook her head, "I don't know how. But when I was pulling you out, I heard it. The voice. It was a child's voice."**

"That's…disturbing," Nico grumbled.

Hades' face dawned with recognition, "I was wondering why Olivia wore such a horrified expression before."

"Come play with me, though? Out of all things to say, why _that_?" a bemused and slightly revolted Percy shook his head.

"Well… if the ghost _is_ Peter Sweeney, didn't his mother say he disappeared thirty-five years ago? Meaning he was a child when he died. And Liv says that the voice sounded like it belonged to one. What do you expect a child to say?" Katie rhetorically asked.

"So what?" Leo asked, expression palpable with disbelief. "You think the ghost's drowning people and taking them to some playroom somewhere? I mean, their bodies never show up right? The ghost must have taken them some place. Bodies don't just disappear and I doubt the ghost _eats_ them," the last part was quickly spoken before Dionysus could bring up cannibalism once again.

Thalia shook her head, "Ya know. I never thought I'd ever hear such a ridiculous statement and actually _consider_ its veracity."

A few people chuckled at the truth of her words.

 **Andrea broke into sobs again, "What's happening?"**

 **Alternating back to Dean, he pulled out a scrapbook with the words "Jake – 12 years old" and opened it, flipping through the pages. After a moment, he closed it and joined the trio, setting the book down in front of Andrea and opening it to a particular picture. "Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?" he asked her.**

 **A confused frown puckered on her forehead. "What? Um, um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there," she tapped her finger on one of the kids. "He must have been about twelve in these pictures." She dragged her finger to another picture of two boys.**

 **Dean, Sam and Liv exchanged knowing looks.**

"That's Peter!" Connor cried in recognition.

Travis grimaced, "Guess we found another connection, huh."

"It makes sense," Persephone straightened her posture. "The ghost had yet to conclude its plot of vengeance which is why Andrea was targeted."

Apollo scoffed, "Little Peter could give Nemesis a run for her money, eh?"

"Don't tell her that," Hermes smirked.

 **"** **Chris Barr's drowning. The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to the sheriff," Dean rushed out to say.**

 **Sam let out a low whistle, "Bill** ** _and_** **the sheriff – they were** ** _both_** **involved with Peter."**

 **"** **See why I hate cops," Liv grumbled, her words mostly drowned out by Andrea, who intervened, "What about Chris? My dad – what are you talking about?"**

"Oh, nothing much," Connor airily said, waving a dismissive hand.

"Just found out that the esteemed Sheriff probably murdered a kid when he was a kid," Travis carried on, mimicking Connor.

 **Dean looked sideways, "Lucas?" The little boy intently stared out the window. "What is it?" he asked.**

 **Lucas opened the door and walked out, the others following him.**

 **"** **Lucas, honey?" Andrea's voice was laced with a mixture of concern and confusion, but the little boy simply stopped, looked at a patch of ground and then back at Dean.**

"Kid's smart," Apollo remarked, a fond smile playing on his lips.

"He basically solved the entire case for them," Hermes commented.

 **Liv turned around and placed a calming hand on Andrea's arm, "Take Lucas back to the house and stay there, okay?"**

 **Nodding, the terrified mother pulled Lucas back into the house. The scene forwarded slightly, showing Dean returning with three shovels. Grabbing a shovel each, the Winchesters started digging the patch Lucas pointed out.**

Aphrodite shivered at the hard labor and the idea of manually digging through dirt. " _That_ results in dry and callous hands," she exclaimed in horror.

Nobody bothered to retort, having grown used to the goddess of love's moments of vanity. Well, except for Artemis.

"What would you have them do? Unlike us, they cannot just excavate the ditch with the simple flick of a hand or by snapping their fingers," she vehemently retorted.

 **The scene forwarded again, showing a hole in the ground. A loud** ** _clank_** **permeated the air as Sam's shovel impacted against something. Crouching now, Liv, Dean and Sam frantically dug through with their hands and pulled out a red bicycle.**

" _Eek_!" Aphrodite viciously recoiled, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

Artemis nodded, eyes wide, "I know. That's Peter's bike. _There's_ all the proof they need!"

" _No_!" Aphrodite wailed, expression one of pure horror. "Look at Olivia's hand! Do you know how long it will take to remove every grain of dirt from under her nails?! _Ages_!"

Piper facepalmed, chagrined.

The loud clearing of a throat beckoned the majority's attention, turning to stare at Poseidon, who was grinning at them, "Shall we proceed?"

Sighing, Hestia smiled at her brother, grateful for his swift interference.

 **"** **Peter's bike," Sam whispered, breaking the silence.**

 **The sound of a gun cocking echoed from behind making them turn around; Sheriff Devins had a gun pointed at them.**

"Don't you dare pull that trigger!" Aphrodite snapped, all concern about Olivia preserving her beauty eliminated from mind.

Chris shook his head. "He won't do it," but his statement sounded weak, even to him.

"The 'sheriff' was capable of murder when he was a child, I don't think he'd hesitate to kill them if it meant keeping his secret," Hazel gloomily pointed out.

Ares aggressively rolled his eyes and growled, "Maybe if you'd all stop talking and watch, you'll find out!"

All eyes were on the god of war.

"What?" he snapped.

Aphrodite tentatively put a hand over her lover's, "Are you- are you _concerned_ about Oli-"

Ares roughly cut her off, and in an obvious voice, growled, " _No_. I wanna see the action."

Severely disappointed, the goddess of love simply sighed and looked away. Though Apollo, had an eyebrow arched in Ares' direction.

 **"** **Put the gun down, Jake," Liv said, a warning in her voice. She dropped her shovel, Dean and Sam mimicking her, and they all kept a guarded eye on the Sheriff.**

 **Not lowering the gun, he gruffly addressed them, eyes flickering between them and the bicycle, "How did you know that was there?"**

 **Dean dodged the question. "What happened? You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You** ** _can't_** **bury the truth, Jake.** ** _Nothing_** **stays buried."**

"You got that right," Apollo instantly voiced his agreement. When everyone spared him a glance, he rolled his eyes, pointed a finger at the top of his head and sang, "God of Truth here. _Hello_?!"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I still don't understand _how_ you attained that title! You lie more than anybody I know!" she indignantly exclaimed.

"Woah now. That's not true. You left me out," Hermes pouted, genuinely affronted.

"I did not," Artemis grumbled, not amused by the trickster's antics. "But you're a liar on an entirely different level."

Much to the majority of the room's amusement, Hermes puffed up in pride and nodded his head in Artemis' direction, grossly mollified.

"It _wasn't_ a compliment!" the goddess of the hunt snapped.

Hermes winked, eyes brimming with mirth, "It is to me."

Apollo patted Hermes on the shoulder, his expression shining with an emotion that could only spell trouble, "Don't worry Hermes, Artie's just jealous you and I are the most versatile with many diverse titles."

"Am _not_!" she huffed, glaring daggers at her troublesome brothers. "And don't call me _Artie_!"

"Are so," they echoed, irritating Artemis further.

Zeus shot his three children a stern look, "How about you continue your dispute on our next break, yes?"

Simultaneously, they fell silent and with one last glare at the two cheekily grinning gods, Artemis looked away.

"They're like a bunch of kindergarteners," Percy quietly observed, eyes wide with wonder. The other demigods, Grover and Rachel bit back their laughter just as the episode resumed.

 **The shot homed in on Andrea watching from the living room window. Eyes wide, she turned to Lucas. "Go to your room, sweetie. Now. Lock the door and wait for me. Don't come out," her voice was serious and laced with a plea. Nodding, Lucas ran off and Andrea went outside.**

 **"** **I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Jake gruffly denied.**

"It's always the same thing," Apollo sighed, sounding slightly irritated. "Every _single_ time somebody's caught in the act, the first thing that leaves their mouths is an I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about. Seriously, be creative people!" he ranted.

Hermes arched an eyebrow at him, "O- _kayy_."

"He's finally lost it," Dionysus mumbled to his wife.

 **"** **You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about," Dean retorted furiously. Andrea called out for her dad from afar, but Dean continued, "And now you've got one seriously pissed off spirit!"**

Connor whispered for only Travis, Rachel, and Katie to hear. "Pissed off? That's one way of putting it."

 **Sam stepped in, "It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."**

"Like Bill Carlton," Triton matter-of-factly remarked.

 **Jake sneered at them, his expression coated in disbelief, "Yeah, and how do you know that?"**

 **"** **Because it's exactly what happened to Bill Carlton," Liv cut in seriously. "He lost everyone. He told me that losing his children was worse than dying. That's** ** _exactly_** **the words Peter's mother used."**

 **Shaking his head furiously, Jake spat out, "Listen to yourselves, both of you. You're** ** _insane_** **." But still, his hold on the gun slightly wavered.**

"What's it gonna take for him to believe them? _Yeesh_!" Leo groaned.

Percy nodded, equally exasperated, "I know! It's practically hitting him on the face and still he doesn't believe."

 **Dean scoffed, his face lined with anger, "I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us. But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust.**

" _Oohhhhh_!" Rachel's eyes widened to an impressive size as she gaped at the screen in a mixture of relief and understanding.

Athena glared at the Oracle, "What _now_?!"

"I get it. I _finally_ get it!" Rachel chirped, excitedly bouncing in her seat, so much so, that Connor had to steady her with his hands. "I take back my harsh comments about them being into grave desecration and stuff," the redhead rapidly uttered. She whipped her head around in all directions, her shocking red hair smacking Connor and Chris in the face, as both boys were sitting on either side of her. "Nobody got it?"

All eyes were on Rachel, staring at her as though they feared she had descended into insanity, until Jason gasped in recognition.

"Styx! I get it now," the blonde chuckled. "In the case with the woman in white, they spoke about digging up her body."

Clarisse grunted, "Yeah and Rachel went into a hissy fit about disrespect and whatever."

"That was me," Artemis dryly cut in, but the daughter of Ares simply shrugged in apology.

"Yeah well," Rachel prefaced, her annoyingly cheerful attitude making Dionysus want to separate her head from her shoulders. "Dean just said it! How to get rid of a ghost. Salt and burn the ghost's remains. That's _how_!"

The goddess of wisdom scowled, "I fear the children's presence is affecting my ability to reason, deduce and analyze!"

Aphrodite scoffed though she thankfully remained silent. _Poseidon_ , on the other hand… well, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Don't blame the children for your shortcomings, Athena," he drawled, enunciating the last two words for dramatic effect.

"Why you-"

"Stop!" one word came forth from Hestia's mouth, effectively silencing them.

 **Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake," Dean growled.**

 **The shot focused on Lucas, who apparently disobeyed his mother and stood nearby, watching them.**

"Why didn't you listen to your mother!" Percy groaned.

Annabeth threw him an 'are-you-kidding-me' look.

"Hark who's talking," Thalia scoffed, smirking at his annoyed glare.

 **A creepy voice that belonged to a child crooned, "** ** _Come play with me._** **"**

Grover, Rachel and nearly every demigod shivered at the voice.

"Okay, I would've died happy without having to hear that," Leo grimaced, rubbing his hands together.

 **Lucas followed the voice.**

"NO!"

"I thought the kid was supposed to be smart! Why would he follow the creepy voice?" Connor hysterically exclaimed.

 **"** **Dad, is any of this true?" Andrea demanded. He shook his head, "No. Don't listen to them. They're liars and they're dangerous."**

Ares snorted loudly, his scarred face lined with amusement. "That's what every liar says," he pointed out.

"Deny, deny, deny," Apollo said in a singsong voice.

 **Liv snorted, "Yeah. That's what every liar says."**

Hermes burst into laughter as the god of war stiffened, "Like father, like daughter! _Priceless_."

"You don't shut up, imma gut you like a fish," Ares sneered, fluidly pulling out his sword and making it shrink to a dagger.

And again, in a singsong voice, Apollo smirked at Ares and said, " _Deny, deny, deny_."

A guttural growl permeated the air, _that_ paired with Ares' glare of promised murder, stopped anybody else from making another comment.

 **Andrea had yet to take her eyes off her father. "Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad,** ** _look at me_** **." He did. "Tell me you, you** ** _didn't_** **kill anyone," she pleaded, eyes shining with unshed tears.**

 **Jake looked away, ashamed.**

"There's your answer," Leo murmured, hands twitching nervously.

 **"** **Billy and I were at the lake," he gruffly revealed. "Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time, it got rough. We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned.**

Clarisse flinched violently in Chris' arms, her expression one of unadulterated horror as she slowly turned to look at Percy. "Percy, I-"

Smiling softly, Percy winked at her, "Don't you dare go soft on me, La Rue."

The gods, especially Ares, and a few demigods that were unaware of Percy and Clarisse's introduction to each other, stared at them in confusion.

Clarisse chuckled at Percy's subtle attempt to convey his forgiveness and retorted, "In your dreams, Prissy."

In a loud whisper, Leo said, "What just happened."

Nobody answered.

Leo pouted.

 **We let the body go, and it sank," he miserably concluded.**

 **The Winchesters glanced at each other in defeat.**

"How are they supposed to stop Peter's ghost then if there isn't a body to salt and burn?" Katie squeaked.

Thalia contemplated for a second. "Well… the woman in white found peace when Sam reunited her with the ghost of her children, right? So…" she trailed off in horror.

"No way. So what? Peter gets his vengeance, kills the sheriff, Andrea and Lucas? That's no. That's unacceptable!" Percy spat out.

Nico looked resigned to the existence of unsummoned ghosts… grudgingly.

 **"** **Oh, Andrea, we were kids," Jake moaned, begging her to understand. "We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I had anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost? It's not rational."**

Piper scoffed, "Nothing about the supernatural is rational."

 **Liv cut in, "Alright. Look. You two need to get the hell away from this lake. As far as possible.** ** _Right_** **now!"**

 **Andrea turned around and the shot focused on Lucas, who was near the lake. She gasped.**

"Is he CRAZY?" Rachel screeched.

Chris and Connor jerked away from her, wincing and rubbing their ears.

"Inside voice, Rach! Use your inside voice," Connor groaned.

 **"** **Lucas!" Jake yelled.**

 **The group ran to the dock. Lucas leaned over the side, reaching out for a toy soldier in the water.**

 **"** ** _Come play with me._** **"**

"No. don't play with him. Don't," Hazel murmured, clutching Frank's hand in a vice grip.

 **Dean bellowed, "Lucas!"**

 **"** **Lucas! Baby, stay where you are!" Andrea hysterically screamed.**

 **Suddenly, a bluish-grey hand sprung out of the water and pulled Lucas in.**

Screams reverberated in the room.

 **The group reached the edge of the lake when Jake froze in his tracks, eyes staring ahead in horror. A head was visible, a head of black greasy hair, bluish-grey skin and bloodshot dark eyes that were staring straight at Jake.**

"Oh gods, that's disgusting," Piper slapped a hand to her mouth, nauseated.

Frank grimaced and squinted at the screen, "I think I preferred the ghost when it remained invisible."

"We all did," Rachel groaned, rubbing her stomach.

Poseidon glowered at the ghost's head. "I shall ensure that _abomination_ no longer haunts that lake. Despicable creature," he spat. He may have been an innocent once upon a time, but when he started killing off innocents, he stopped being one.

 **The Winchesters did not hesitate to jump into the lake.**

"Why would they do that?" Persephone cried out, squeezing Hades' hand in hers.

While equally concerned, Amphitrite hazarded a guess, "The ghost seeks vengeance against particular individuals. I doubt any harm shall come to the Winchesters."

 **Andrea took off her jacket, ready to jump in, when Sam yelled at her to stay away from the lake. "No! Lucas!" she cried.**

 **"** **We'll get him, just stay on the dock," Liv yelled, diving under again as Dean and Sam came up for air. A moment later, Liv broke the surface and dejectedly shook her head at Dean.**

 **"** **Lucas where are you?" Andrea screamed, her voice turning manic.**

"He's just an innocent kid," Percy spat out, his eyes slightly bloodshot.

"So was Peter thirty-five years ago," Nico pointed out, matter-of-factly, though nobody misinterpreted the horror shining in his dark eyes.

Percy whipped around so fast, his neck cricked, to glare at the son of Hades, "So what? You're saying what he's doing is justified? That Lucas deserves to be punished for his grandfather's mistake?"

" _No_!" Nico yelled. "I'm saying life's cruel. A lot of people don't deserve to die but they do."

Mollified, and slightly sheepish for attacking Nico, Percy looked away.

"What just happened?" Poseidon blinked, confused. And Hades looked mystified as well.

Matter-of-factly, Hestia said, " _That_ dear brother, is your children rationally solving their disputes without drawing any weapons, or conjuring a storm, a hurricane or an earthquake."

Like naughty toddlers rebuked by their stern mother, the Big Three averted eye contact with everybody and stared intently at the screen.

 **All of a sudden, Jake joined the others, peeling off his jacket and tossing it to the ground while he waded into the lake. "Peter!" he cried out, his voice laced with distraught and misery. "If you can hear me…** ** _please_** **, Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so- I'm** ** _so_** **sorry."**

 **"** **Daddy, no!" Andrea shrieked.**

"Oh Lord!" Rachel gasped, a hand over her mouth.

"Is he… he is, isn't he?" Hazel choked out.

Ariadne grimaced, "He's sacrificing himself to save his family. Despite his past crime, it is quite honorable of him."

"Yes. Better and braver men than he wouldn't do such a deed," Athena divulged.

 **Dean, Sam and Liv came up for air again and stared at Jake in horror, joining Andrea's pleas for him to stay away.**

 **Peter surfaced again, eerie eyes intensely focused on Jake.**

 **"** **Just let it be over," Jake begged, meeting Peter's gaze, and almost immediately, he was dragged into the lake.**

 **"** **Daddy!** ** _Daddy_** **! No!"**

Katie, Rachel, Hazel and Piper's vision were blurred with tears and had to look away from the distressing scene.

"There must have been another way to get rid of the ghost without a sacrifice," Triton spoke through gritted teeth.

Ares grumbled in irritation at the lack of action, though unknown to all, his eyes intently stalked Liv, waiting until she was back on dry land and away from the horrors of the lake.

 **The Winchesters submerged themselves again, and finally, when they came back up, Dean held a limp Lucas in his arms.**

 **"** **No!" Andrea cried as she rushed forward, tears streaming down her face.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"Wait, what? What about Lucas? Did he- did he _die_?" Percy choked the last word out.

Annabeth carded a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

As the screen gained color, everyone waited with bated breaths for the revelation of Lucas' fate.

 **Dean and Sam walked out of the motel and made a beeline to the car. The trunk was open and Liv tossed her duffle bag in before turning to see the brothers approach.**

 **"** **Look, we're not gonna save everybody," Sam was saying. His gaze then flickered to Liv, "Tell him."**

 **Sighing, Liv offered a weak smile, "We win some, we lose some. I don't know Sammy, what d'you want me to say? I'm peeved about the death toll here too."**

 **"** **Olivia, Dean, Sam!" They sharply turned around, their faces breaking into wide smiles at the sight of Andrea and Lucas.**

At the sight of Lucas, nearly everyone breathed out a loud sigh of relief.

"Kid's a little warrior. Of course he survived," Apollo grinned, though he too looked relieved.

Dionysus scoffed at him, "You didn't look so sure a minute ago."

A mischievous glint appeared in the sun god's eyes as his lips curled into a Cheshire cat smile, "Awhh, D, I didn't know you were watching me so avidly. I'm touched, really, I am."

Purple orbs flared in his direction, but Apollo smirked and shrugged him off. "I love you too little bro," Apollo laughed.

"You are _insufferable_ , Apollo," Dionysus rolled his eyes.

Laughing, Apollo said, "I'll take that as code for 'I love you too', yeah? Yeah."

Ariadne giggled and shook her head fondly at the two.

 **"** **We're glad we caught you," Andrea beamed at the three. "We just, um, we made you lunch for the road." She softly pushed Lucas forward, a tray of sandwiches balanced in his tiny hands. "Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself."**

 **"** **Can I give it to them now?" Lucas asked his mother.**

"He spoke!" Katie cheered, clapping her hands together in joy.

"Such a precious little boy," Aphrodite cooed, Persephone and Ariadne making similar noises in the background.

Dionysus rolled his eyes, "Yes. Yes. The little brat spoke. _Hurrah_."

Hermes smirked, throwing a wink Ariadne's way. "And that's D's way of saying he actually cares for the little munchkin."

"It most certainly is not," Dionysus bit back as Apollo and Aphrodite laughed.

 **Andrea smiled warmly and kissed his head, "Of course."**

 **Liv crouched down and ruffled his hair, "Thank you, sweetie."**

 **Lucas beamed at her as Dean stepped over, "Come on, Lucas, let's load this into the car."**

 **As the two went, Sam smiled at Andrea, "How you holding up?"**

 **She shook her head, a sad smile on her lips, "It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?"**

"I can't imagine what the poor dear must be going through," Hestia sighed, compassionate eyes fixed on the screen. "Discovering the truth of her husband's death. Then losing her father. All the while coming to terms with the fact that ghosts exist."

Hades scoffed, "I'm still processing the last part. They _shouldn't_ be able to roam around. They should be in the Underworld!"

Hecate pursed her lips, "Hopefully the anomaly will be explained soon."

 **"** **Andrea, I'm sorry," Liv started, only for Andrea to softly cut in, a genuine smile on her face. "You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that."**

"A courageous woman. Such a pity," Artemis murmured; she would've made an excellent Huntress.

 **Dean carefully put the sandwiches in the backseat before turning to Lucas. "All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it one more time," Dean grinned.**

 **Smiling up at him, Lucas cheered, "Zeppelin rules!"**

"So cute!" Rachel cooed over her friends' laughter.

"Now that's a hardcore fan right there," Leo grinned. "Dedication dude."

 **Dean laughed, "That's right. Up high." He held up a hand and obliging, a grinning Lucas high-fived him.**

"And Sam said he wasn't good with kids," Aphrodite clucked her tongue. "Dean is a natural."

Demeter hummed in thought, "I can see how. There is wide age difference between Dean, Sam and Olivia. He must have played a big role in their lives as they matured."

 **"** **You take care of your mom, okay?"**

 **Lucas nodded, "All right."**

Hera had to bite her tongue to prevent the huge tongue-lashing she wished to give Ares and Hephaestus, aided by Zeus and Hestia's warning stare, both of whom fluently read the expression on her face.

 **Andrea walked over to Dean and kissed him on the cheek, smiling. "Thank you."**

"Well done, Jerry Maguire," Rachel joked, eliciting a laugh out of Piper.

 **Dean paused for a moment, scratched his head and went over to the driver's seat. "Sam, Liv, move your asses! We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."**

 **"** **Jeez, impatient much," Liv rolled her eyes as she clambered into the backseat.**

 **As the Impala backed out of the parking lot, the Winchesters waved goodbye to Andrea and Lucas.**

 **The screen turned black.**

Blinking a couple of times, Ariadne said, "Well then. This was quite…"

"Depressing?" Apollo put in.

"Horrifying?" Hermes supplied.

"Distressing," Amphitrite sighed.

"No. I was thinking… illuminating," Ariadne attempted a smile.

Poseidon nodded in agreement, "Yes, very. I, for one, learned much from this… _episode_. And I shall see to it that these events _do not_ occur." Nobody but he controls the water!

"Now what?" Chris asked, looking around.

His question was promptly answered as the screen gained color.

 **A/N: ****Done! I hope I did this chapter justice… did I?**

 **I tried to integrate PJO Universe with SPN – I mean, I don't really imagine Poseidon would be thrilled with the fact that his divine element, the one he has authority over, is harming innocents, right? Or is just me? I've always pictured Poseidon as a god that likes being in control, though not to a Zeus extent, if you get my drift. LOL.**

 **Then, I thought about Amphitrite. She** ** _is_** **a Nereid and the Naiads** ** _are_** **her cousins. Limnades are Naiads that preside over lakes, so obviously the King and Queen of the Sea would be hyped up about the missing Naiad(s) and so on…** ** _right_** **?**

 **Confession:** **I kind of had a teeny bit of a hard time writing this chapter. I just…I wanted… no I** ** _needed_** **to make it perfect since it revolved around Poseidon's domain and he IS my all-time** ** _FAVORITE_** **character and Olympian from PJO. While Poseidon is the God of the Sea, he has control over all bodies of water (except the Sea of Monsters, unless I'm mistaken), so if anyone is confused about why he cares about some lake, then there you go. =)**

 **o**

 **Ares… Ares, Ares, Ares.**

 **When I try and imagine** ** _how_** **he would look like, two celebrities in particular come to mind,** ** _don't ask why_** **, LOL.**

 **One:** **Robert Downey Jr. & ****Two:** **Alex O'Loughlin.**

 **Why? Hmm. Let's see… Robert, the sexiest and one of my favorite actors, Downey Jr. – as Tony Stark (who is my all-time favorite Avenger and Marvel character) he always has those sexy sunglasses on, and Ares does too. So I can totally imagine Robert as Ares. And Alex got a lot of somethin' somethin' as well, hehe. So, take those two actors and combine them and** ** _voila_** **! You got yourself a gorgeously gorgeous Ares. ;)**

 **Poseidon? Easy.**

 **Ever since I watched the film for PJO: The Lightning Thief, the celebrity face just stuck.**

 **Kevin McKidd** ** _is_** **Poseidon to me, though without the auburn-ish hair and jet-black instead.**

 **So, yup, that's all I got for you on the celebrity face front. For now! ;)**

 **o**

 **Some of you might think Ares was a little OOC in the beginning of this chapter? Well, tough, =)**

 **In this story, all the characters are gonna, sooner or later, be coming out of their shell. They will all evolve as the story progresses and the episodes of the Winchesters' lives. Hera … I don't know if she'll continue being a bitch or even Athena, it depends on my muse. But Ares might become softer, Dionysus might be more compassionate, Artemis might finally lose her v-card…. I'M KIDDING! (If anyone watched the movie Jack and Jill for Adam Sandler, I totally stole that line, LOL). No but seriously, the Artemis part was a joke, she's a virgin goddess for life, haha. But you get my point.**

 **My point** ** _is_** **–** **sooner or later, they'll all end up becoming OOC. So don't get shocked.**

 **Now, back to my initial point before I got sidetracked by my ramblings (** ** _sorry!_** **): I think I mentioned before that there** ** _is_** **a reason** ** _why_** **Ares dislikes Olivia so much. I don't know if some of you guessed right… but the beginning of this chapter is a huge hint to the WHY part.**

 **I honestly loved writing a softer Ares. I can't imagine him being harsh with our lovely Aphrodite. So I hope you enjoyed it as well…?**

 **o**

 **To** ** _all_** **my Lovely,** ** _Lovely_** **Reviewers,** ** _thank you_** **for all your wonderful and inspiring comments!**

 **To** **bloody lilith** **: Oh my G.O.D. your comment seriously made my day, like I had a huge smile on my face as I read it. It's readers like you that inspire me to continue as I have proof that** ** _yes, people are reading this and liking it_** **! Honestly, the birth of this story started with my failure to find any decent PJO/SPN fics, you know? I searched and searched and when I found one that I liked, it was incomplete, so that completely sucked. So I decided, what the heck, I'll just write my own kickass crossover and** ** _viola_** **! I'm actually so excited about this story I wanna keep updating, but unfortunately, my other followers will riot (I swear, no joke) if I don't update my others, so I'll try and update this story weekly or biweekly.** **Anyhuuu… about Olivia. I'm glad you like her. If you read my notes in the previous chapters, then you know my opinion on Ares, so I tried creating an OC that would really twist the war god's view – like, have a daughter that's the opposite of most his children but with many surprises up her sleeves. Olivia has an interesting background (no spoilers, they'll show up later, especially during Season 2) and a** ** _very_** **interesting future, so I'm am thrilled you are a huge fan of Olivia Winchester. Honestly, about the pairings, I am SO confused. I'm thinking of just pairing her up with everyone, Lol. However, I will tell you this, I already have a plot in mind for two of Olivia's future relationships (the past:** ** _spoilers_** **). On an endnote, I hope this chapter exceeded your expectations! =)**

 **To** **Naruto Mitarashi** **: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Well next chapter, you'll be getting an answer to your question as our first demon will be introduced (** ** _yay!_** **) – yellow eyes doesn't count because it hasn't been revealed that he's a demon yet. The reactions will be** ** _staggering_** **; I'll tell you that much. Hmm… Dartemis? I don't really see it, but at the same time, I kinda do. However, while I'm trying to deviate from canon with the creation of my OC and making PJO characters OOC as the story progresses, I somehow don't see Artemis falling in love with** ** _the_** **Dean Winchester and giving up her virgin title ever happening.** ** _But_** **, I'll tell you this… if a lot of my fans for this story wishes for Dartemis to happen, then I'll honestly reconsider that option.**

 **To** **vicania** **: Thank you! Update schedule, update schedule… Seeing how I've got soo many stories in progress I can't promise you anything.** ** _However_** **, I'm going to try and update this story either weekly or biweekly, but it's not absolute. So if two weeks go by and I've yet to update, then I apologize beforehand.**

 **To** **kksambo** **: I don't particularly hate Athena, more like** ** _I cannot stand her_** **. Sometimes, I can't even stand Annabeth. Unfortunately, I have yet to find PJO fanfictions where Percy is paired with an OC or someone that isn't Nico or Jason. Anyways, off topic, sorry. You view on Athena, I** ** _totally_** **agree with you 100%! About your story idea… and this is just me… but I don't really see an Evil!Percy. I just can't imagine it, and I don't like it. When I'm reading a PJO fic, whenever I see Percy side with Luke or go over to the dark side I immediately get out and look for another story.** ** _However_** **, I can try and incorporate Odette Potter into Percy Jackson's Universe (though separately, not in** ** _The Forgotten Potter_** **fic of mine). I will consider your idea, it is a possibility – the Odette part, not evil Percy (I'm sorry I just can't imagine it, and if I can't imagine it then the story won't end up well-written), but I can't tell you when the story will be made. I hope my response isn't disappointing… =(**

 **To** **Guest** **: Oh gods! Crossroad Deals. Same here. Yes, Hecate will be confused and Hades will have a conniption fit when the existence of demons come to light (next chapter!). Unfortunately, Angels don't show up until Season 4 –** ** _Bummer!_** **Although… you wanna know what** ** _will_** **be funny? When they find out that yes, God** ** _does_** **exist, and yes, he ranks higher than you. LOL!**

 **To** **maevel** **: Another review that made me smile! Thank you SO much! You cannot understand how happy it makes me when I get such astounding reviews such as yours. I tried not to make Liv a Mary-Sue so I balanced her out, the good and the bad. Apollo, Gabriel. Hmmm… no spoilers. ;)**

 **To** **aliiceroseee** **: The road to Ares accepting Liv is a long one. Not multiple seasons long, but long. There is a reason for his disdain toward Olivia, and it'll come to light soon. He doesn't** ** _hate_** **her… no matter what people think, my Ares isn't heartless and he loves all his children despite their gender or accomplishments. Ares just doesn't want to open up his heart to her and love her. It's not permanent though. XD**

 **To** **suntan140** **: Victoria is 100% human. Ares believes Olivia is a weakling and as the chapter says: a runt. There's nothing more to it. Like I mentioned before, there is a reason why he's so hostile to Liv, which will be revealed soon-** ** _ish_** **. Also, I can see where you got the misunderstanding from – when Ares mentioned last chapter, and I quote: "The child was a mistake on my part. I never meant to sire a child with her!" he was referring to the fact that he wasn't** ** _trying_** **to get Victoria pregnant. Her getting pregnant with Ares' child was a complete surprise to him. He never wanted a child with Victoria. Again, it will be explained later. I apologize for the misunderstanding, though! =)**

 **To** **lululillie** **: Oh God, when I read your review, I gotta admit, I felt a wee bit nervous to write this chapter. I really hope I did your favorite episode justice. **closing my eyes and getting ready to duck in case you decide to throw rotten tomatoes at me for ruining your fav. episode****

 **To** **LadyScatty** **: Another awesome review! Lol. I'm honestly having fun with the whole Artemis/Dean dynamic. Dean is the Righteous Man, stated by God Himself, and he is a hero, so Artemis will grudgingly like him, and then he'll do something that annoys the virgin goddess and he'll return to her shit-list. The slight Sam Bashing was just me venting my frustrations – I don't hate the guy, it's just until Season 9, Sam has this remarkable ability to really piss me off. I guess I'm a Diehard Dean fan. … Hey, I adore Ares, so I'm not judging you for Dionysus, and besides he** ** _is_** **hilarious. Oh believe me, there will be a billion fights by the end of the Season One, exhibit A: this chapter, LOL. Anyways, I hope this chapter exceeded your expectations as well! XD**

 **I am so excited for the next chapter so I'll try and have it out soon. Hopefully by the end of next week!**

 **R &R.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended**

 **A/N:** **Olivia Winchester – Victoria Justice.**

 **Chapter 4:**

With bated breaths and attentive eyes, every individual in the throne room stared at the screen as the darkness morphed into the bright interior of an airport. Percy and Thalia in particular, sported dangerously pale expressions, the color rapidly leaving their complexion as a vibrating, roaring sound echoed from within the screen and resonated against the walls, the unmistakable sound of an airplane taking off.

Nico and Hazel's complexions were considerably healthier in comparison to the daughter of Zeus and the son of Poseidon, yet they too donned wide-eyed expressions, their knuckles whitening in fear.

" _Great_. I already know I'm not gonna like this one," Thalia murmured darkly under her breath as she subtly slumped in her seat, her shoulders hunched as though to avoid detection. Her barely audible declaration received wholehearted nods of agreement from Nico and Hazel, and a commiserating tight-lipped smile from Percy.

Zeus cocked his head to the side, confusion at his daughter's sudden disposition skyrocketing.

 **The shot focused on a man in a suit, nervously fidgeting as he checked his ticket and promptly entered the bathroom.**

" **Thank you for flying United Britannia Airlines," a pleasant feminine voice boomed from the intercom.**

 **The man leaned over the sink, frantically splashing water on his face as another man exited a stall and dried his hands. He then looked at the nervous man and smiled, "Nervous flyer?"**

"What tipped him off," Leo murmured, the ' _duh!_ ' heavily implied.

" **It's that obvious, huh?"**

" _No_!" Travis and Connor sarcastically retorted, grinning from ear to ear.

Hera scowled at the sons of Hermes, both of whom simply blinked at her and nonchalantly looked away. She bristled at the constant disrespect aimed at her. ' _And they wonder why I despise demigods,_ ' she inwardly fumed, petulantly crossing her arms.

" **You know, what are the odds of dying in a plane crash? I mean, what? Twenty thousand to one?" the man attempted to soothe his nerves before leaving the bathroom.**

Percy glowered at Zeus, "Depends on a certain Drama King's mood, really."

"What was that, _boy_?!" Zeus boomed warningly, eyes sharp and narrowed.

The son of Poseidon rolled his eyes and continued, undeterred by Annabeth's promptings to stay silent and Poseidon's subtle shaking of his head. "Just saying, most plane crashes occur because you can't keep your temper in check. So thousands and _millions_ of people lose their lives because of your anger management problems," he snapped.

Ares straightened up in his throne, eyes flickering eagerly between his father and the son of Poseidon, on tenterhooks for the imminent fight.

"You dare speak to me with such _blatant_ disrespect!" Zeus hissed, fingering his Master Bolt threateningly. "Know this Perseus Jackson, the only reason I have yet to blow you into smithereens is solely because it goes against the will of the Fates. _For now_."

Before Poseidon could get a word in and declare his rage at Zeus for daring to threaten his son, the demigods all burst into uproarious laughter, confusing the gods and infuriating the King of Gods.

Hera narrowed her eyes at them, distaste clear on her gorgeous features, "This is _no_ laughing matter!"

Thalia bit back her laughter and solemnly stared at her father, "Trust me when I say this, Father, but killing Percy would be the biggest mistake of your life and you _would_ come to regret it."

Zeus arched a brow, and while he looked the epitome of calm, his electric blue irises were crackling with electricity, "Are you, _daughter of mine_ , threatening me?"

She firmly shook her head. "No. Take it as a friendly warning from the future," Thalia retorted, not the least bit intimidated by her father.

Apollo on the other hand, immediately caught on to the demigods' reaction and leaned forward until he basically reached the edge of his seat, dangerously close to toppling off, "This has something to do with the Great Prophecy, isn't it?"

The tension was suffocating, almost like all the oxygen had been drained in the room the split-second the Great Prophecy was mentioned. And the tension further escalated once Apollo's curious inquiry hung in the air, unanswered.

"Spoilers?" Will weakly supplied, not particularly liking to refuse his father of anything.

Athena gritted her teeth. "The Fates _did_ proclaim the divulgence of information _is_ allowed," she pointed out with a snarl.

"They told us to be wary of _how much_ ," Piper shot back, daggers in her kaleidoscopic eyes. "We never said we wouldn't tell you anything, all we're asking is that you be patient and give us time to come up with the best possible way to reveal future events."

Katie nodded in vehement agreement, "It's _our_ future that's on the line here. If we treat this rashly, then the future could become even worse."

" _Worse_?" Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis and Hermes echoed in shock, instantly catching on to the unmistakable and unconscious slip up.

The daughter of Demeter slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide and expression sheepish. "Forget I said anything," she squeaked, hurriedly hiding her face in Travis' chest before they could demand her for more answers… answers they were not ready to receive yet.

Sighing, Hestia rubbed her forehead and wearily addressed the room, "Let us resume watching for now."

Grudgingly, the gods acquiesced, grumbling in irritation as they turned their attention to the screen. Contrasting the gods, the demigods let out barely audible sighs of relief, happily returning to the episode.

Percy shook his head, thinking that one disrespectful, yet _totally honest_ , remark made by him and all hell gets loose…

 **Eyes still on the door, the nervous man sarcastically spoke to the empty bathroom, "Wow. That's really reassuring. Thank you."**

"First sign of madness…" Dionysus trailed off, humming an offbeat tune under his breath as he flipped over a page.

Hermes rolled his eyes, "You'd know."

The wine god leveled Hermes with a smug smirk, not the least bit offended, "Well, of course _I_ would know. I _am_ the God of Madness, after all."

Ariadne giggled.

Hermes blinked, torn between pride at his little brother for winning the argument or shame that he got beat.

Apollo chuckled at Hermes, clapping him on the back. "He sure one-upped you," he cheerfully remarked.

"Imbeciles," Dionysus murmured, returning to his magazine.

 **Suddenly, a long, slender cloud of smoke seeped out from the vent overhead. It swirled around the man's head like a dark halo and then promptly entered his eyes.**

Grover gulped, "Oh, Pan!"

"What in Tartarus' name is _that_?!" Chris asked, alarmed.

Thalia cocked her head, eyes squinting, "Is that an eidolon?"

During her time as the Lieutenant of Artemis, Thalia had seen and learned a lot about monsters and an assortment of entities harmful to demigods that made up for her seven year stint as a Pine Tree.

But before any of the gods could refute her inquiry, much to nearly everyone's surprise, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Leo vehemently intoned in abrupt unison, "No." Percy, Jason and Leo the most worked up about it, practically snarling the two-letter word out viciously.

"I take it you've encountered an eidolon before?" Hecate asked just for the sake of asking as their expressions made it abundantly clear that they _did_ indeed come across an eidolon before and that by the looks on their faces, it wasn't a particular fond encounter.

" _Three_ ," Jason bitterly divulged.

Athena made a humming sound before saying, "I take it must be quite an interesting story."

"You've got no idea," Annabeth murmured, gripping Percy's hand tight.

"Anyways," Percy attempted a smile in order to alleviate the sudden dreary mood that shrouded the Seven. He turned to address Thalia, "While they do look similar, eidolons resemble a wisp of smoke. That thing is darker and way bigger."

"To the practiced eye, you could easily distinguish between an eidolon and that unknown entity," Hades stated matter-of-factly.

 **The screen then showed the interior of a plane; in the cockpit, the pilot turned around and addressed a flight attendant with strawberry blonde hair and glittering black eyes, "Amanda, how are you today?"**

 **Amanda smiled, "I'm doing just fine, Chuck."**

Rachel groaned, her expression sad, "Great. I'm betting one of them will die."

Leo's eyes bulged from their sockets as he whipped around to face the Oracle, "Spoilers, Rach!"

That earned him a smack to the head.

"What was _that_ for? I'm just saying, the last time you made a similar prediction, an entire family drowned."

He received another wallop to the head.

" _Woman_ stop hitting me," Leo moaned, rubbing his poor abused head. Rachel, her eyes narrowed into slits, raised her hand threateningly for the third time, and the son of Hephaestus warily scooted away from her line of fire, hiding behind Piper as a protection barrier.

Artemis smirked and shot Apollo an approving stare, "I like your Oracle, brother."

Percy, who had been lost in thought the entire time, suddenly voiced out, "I think the plane's gonna crash actually."

 _That_ shut everyone up.

The demigods all gaped at Percy while the gods stared accusingly at Zeus who was determinedly avoiding the heated stares, instead, choosing to glower over at the son of Poseidon.

" _Wow_ ," Connor snorted. "You sure do know how to suck the life right out of a room, Perce."

Percy sheepishly smiled and shrugged.

 **Amanda greeted an incoming passenger as he showed her his ticket. "Welcome aboard. 15C, towards the back of the plane, on the right," she directed him, gesturing with her hand. The passenger thanked her and moved on. She then turned to greet the next passenger, who happened to be the nervous man from the bathroom, "Have a nice flight, sir."**

 **He turned to face her; his eyes were completely black, even the sclerae. He grinned, "Oh, I'm counting on it."**

"What the _hell_!" Rachel shrieked, gaping in shock at the abnormality.

Persephone grimaced, "Most definitely not an eidolon. When they take control of a body, they possess golden eyes."

"It's creepy," Hazel shuddered. Despite the unsettling sight, she found herself unable to detach her eyes from the screen.

 **Amanda blinked several times, her eyes following the man's movement as he walked down the aisle before she shook her head and fixated her attention to the incoming passengers.**

"Typical," Aphrodite sighed as she studied her fingernails intently. "She'll simply shrug it off as a hallucination on her part."

Annabeth frowned and turned to address Hecate, "Shouldn't the Mist have distorted her vision?"

Heads swiveled around, intently focused on Hecate, whose frown mirrored Annabeth's. "It should…" she trailed off, unable to locate an appropriate answer to the befuddling anomaly.

 **The scene advanced and the copilot's voice came over the intercom, "In just a few minutes our flight crew will begin room service in the cabin—"**

 **The suited man turned to his neighbor, his eyes no longer entirely black but his irises a soft brown, "Excuse me. Do you know how long we've been up?"**

Clarisse scowled, confusion sweeping over her features, "He seems almost…normal?"

"He does, doesn't he?" Katie rhetorically murmured, staring at the screen as though it were an excruciatingly difficult puzzle that needed to be solved.

Annabeth, Piper, Frank and Hazel grimaced as their eyes immediately sought out and fixated on Percy, Jason and Leo, all three of whom looked incredibly disturbed. Leo appeared perfectly normal until he randomly started firing on Camp Jupiter. For that matter, so did Percy and Jason for a brief moment before they initiated a fight to the death.

' _Was it possible that man was being possessed?'_ reverberated in the Seven's head.

 **The woman checked her watch, "About forty minutes."**

" **Wow. Time really does fly, huh?" he chuckled straightening up and getting onto his feet, "Excuse me. I've got to stretch my legs." He squeezed past the woman and headed over to the back of the plane.**

"Please tell me he's going to use the bathroom," Rachel whined, her words slightly obscure due to her hands that were tightly clamped over her mouth.

"He's going to use the bathroom," Connor weakly supplied.

 **Upon reaching the rear exit, he gripped the emergency release handle.**

"Okay. He's not going to use the bathroom," Connor corrected his previous statement.

Thalia glared at him, her voice dripping with sarcasm, " _Really_? We couldn't tell."

 **The shot showed a young man sitting close by in an aisle seat look up, noticing the suited man. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" he shouted in alarm.**

 **He turned to look at the younger man, his eyes were once again completely black, and promptly ripped the door open in response.**

"IS HE CRAZY?!" Rachel screeched, voice borderline hysterical. The redhead didn't care about her audience or the eardrums she shattered in the process.

"Rach!" Percy jumped up to his feet, having had previous experience with the Oracle's explosive temper and impressive rants, and being the only person at the current moment brave enough to restrain her from making a bigger scene.

Calming down at the immediate tactile contact, she sheepishly averted everyone's wide-eyed stares, ashamed at herself. She sniffled and said in a meek voice, "But he-he just sentenced them all to death, what-what kind of a monster _does_ _that_?"

Apollo smiled softly at his Oracle, "We'll just have to wait and see."

As Percy and Rachel returned to their seats, Athena brought a new puzzling issue to their attention, "What confounds me is the ineffable strength exerted to pull open that handle in the first place."

Zeus frowned, "Yes…that is most confounding."

 **He then went plummeting down and the door flied off, impacting with the plane's tail and tearing a wing in half as the plane started to descend rapidly. The shot showed Amanda the flight attendant, struggling to find a vacant seat and, after the oxygen masks deployed, she grabbed one and put it over her face. The shot rotated, revealing that both, the young man that had yelled before and the copilot, already having a mask on.**

 **Panicked screams and cries from the passengers could be heard as the plane continued to fall and the screen turned black.**

" _Di immortales_!" Ariadne gasped, her warm chocolate eyes brimming with horror.

Thalia and Nico gripped each other's hands tightly, and while Thalia's complexion had paled, Nico looked even unhealthier than before, his already much too pale complexion turning a sickening white.

Percy's eyes slammed shut, his breathing heavy, as he struggled with himself not to hyperventilate. In fact, it was only when Annabeth wounded both arms around him did he become considerably calmer, her touch anchoring him to the present.

Poseidon looked over at his son, visibly concerned, "Percy, are you alright?"

He merely made a choked sound of acknowledgment, not daring to open his eyes or mouth just yet, which prompted Apollo to get off his throne, worried.

Annabeth stopped him before he could take a step closer. "He doesn't need healing. It's just…" her face morphed into uncertainty as she scanned her boyfriend's clammy face. Turning her attention back to the concerned and few indifferent gods, she sighed, "His grandparents died in a plane crash when his mother was just five-years-old…"

Comprehension dawned on Apollo and he swiftly deposited himself back on his throne, "And watching this painted a pretty gruesome picture of their last moments. Say no more." His voice was filled with compassion and sorrow.

Poseidon chose to glower at Zeus, as it was a 50/50 chance he was responsible.

"Plus… Percy and flying, well…" Annabeth pointedly looked over at Zeus for further clarification.

' _Aahhs!_ ' and ' _Oohhs!_ ' echoed in the throne room as the drachma dropped. The King of Gods had long ago made it abundantly clear that, if a Child of Poseidon were to ever travel through his domain, it must be a suicide attempt.

Zeus shifted uncomfortably and Poseidon's glare intensified.

"What about those three?" Demeter inquired, referring to Thalia, Nico and Hazel.

Nico spoke up for himself and Hazel, his voice weak and face a ghostly white that alarmed both Hades and Persephone. "Children of the Underworld," he simply stated, as though those four words explained everything.

It did.

Hades joined his brother in leveling an intensely frightening glare at Zeus, who was starting to become extremely uncomfortable and slightly nervous, though he stubbornly held his head high, unwilling to admit to his faults.

Thalia on the other hand, leaned into Jason's embrace, not particularly looking forward to enlightening the gods about her fear of heights. Her demigod friends accepted her rational fear without question, albeit with a few jokes of irony from the Stolls – but that was to be expected, as it was Travis and Connor being… _well_ , Travis and Connor. However, she didn't want to face the gods' disbelief and her father's disapproval, for how could the daughter of the Sky be terrified of heights? It was a laughable matter.

 **The shot focused on the interior of a motel room, zooming in on one of the twin beds in the room. Dean laid on his stomach, fast asleep. Liv slept beside him in a fetus position, her back flushed against his side; her hair covered her face and would flutter in tempo with her soft breathing.**

Aphrodite gushed at the endearing sight, "Oh! Aren't they _adorable_ -"

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Artemis shrieked, her disposition was stern and there was a steely glint in her silver orbs that spoke volumes of her disapprobation. "A girl should have lodging of her own, not sharing a small bed with _a boy_ ," she hissed.

"Oh shut up you old maid!" Aphrodite sneered, incensed orbs burning daggers at the insufferably uptight goddess.

Artemis rushed to her feet, dagger in hand, but Apollo swiftly held her back.

"They are cousins you _prude_ ," Aphrodite was on a roll, unwilling to back down and allow the Queen of Virgins to defame Olivia and the Winchester brothers. "And even so, _hypothetically_ , if they were of no familial relation to each other, it is _none_ of your concern what she does or does not do! Not everyone staunchly believes or approves of your ridiculous vow of chastity!" she sneered.

The Goddess of the Hunt was foaming at the mouth, bubbling with rage at the love goddess, "Of course it is a concern of mine! She is a maiden and-"

"Says who?" Ariadne politely, yet firmly interjected, a skeptical brow raised at her.

Artemis frowned, flummoxed, "I beg your pardon?"

"What Aria means," Aphrodite hissed, looking more like a graceful feline about to pounce and evoking a sense of pride and respect in Piper, for she too, was no fan of Artemis and her Hunters – with the exception of Thalia – like all children of Aphrodite. "Where is the proof of Olivia's maidenhood? _Who said_ she is a virgin?"

The tip of a particularly sharp dagger impaled the wall.

Artemis blanched, fury and disgust palpable on her face, but before she could part her lips to spout out a disparaging remark toward the demigod they were all growing fond of, Persephone intruded, her expression mirroring the goddess of love's, "Don't you dare, Artemis! Don't dare slander the poor girl and judge her cruelly for her life choices. Tis _none_ of your business."

Furious at the three goddesses ganging up on her, Artemis roughly deposited herself back on her throne.

All eyes left Artemis' form just in time to see a dagger soar backwards through the air and into Ares' open hand. Aphrodite raised an inquiring brow at her lover, who gruffly responded and skillfully deflected with a deft lie, "I got bored. Now that you're all done yammering, can we get a move on!?"

"I thought you enjoyed observing us quarrel amongst ourselves?" Dionysus drawled, a mocking smirk on his face that looked too knowing for Ares' liking.

"Not about inconsequential matters you old drunk!" Ares sneered.

Dionysus stared back, unbothered as he knew that he had hit the mark.

Hermes and Apollo grinned wickedly at each other as they sang, " _Denial, denial, denial_."

Aphrodite placed a calming hand on Ares' forearm, effectively silencing him and preventing him from getting up to argue with his fists.

 **The door opened, barely making a sound. Dean's eyes abruptly snapped open and his hand slowly slipped under his pillow.**

The demigods shared knowing looks, the reaction all too familiar.

"Weapon under the pillow. Classic," Travis commented.

 **He turned to look at the intruder, only to see Sam closing the door behind him, coffee and a box of donuts in hand.**

"Donuts!" Percy, Thalia, Jason, the Stolls, Chris, Clarisse, and Leo moaned, staring longingly at the screen.

Annabeth, Katie, Rachel and Piper gaped at them, and in perfect unison, cried out in disbelief, "You _just_ ate!"

"Like two hours ago!" Percy, Thalia and Jason retorted at the same time.

The Stolls, Leo, and Chris intoned, "We're growing boys!"

Thalia and Clarisse glared at them, their eyes narrowed, " _And girls_!"

The gods simply stared, blinking in shock and sporting slackened jaws.

"Did you guys rehearse that beforehand or something?" Apollo tentatively inquired.

Percy, Thalia, Jason, the Stolls, Chris, Clarisse, Leo, Annabeth, Katie, Rachel and Piper stared back for a full five seconds, before, in creepy unison, chanted, "No."

The twelve demigods paused, turned to look at each other, frowned, and then simultaneously snapped, "Stop that!"

They blinked, and again, snapped, " _Stop_!"

"No, _you_ stop!"

" _You stop_!"

"Would you _stop that_?!"

Every sentence was spoken at the same time, freaking the gods, the remaining demigods and the lone satyr even more at their uncanny timing and their precision with their wordings.

The twelve demigods paused once more, simultaneously cocked their heads to the side, blinked, and then paled. "Wow… that is _so_ creepy- _stop that_!" they spoke at the same time.

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" Nico bellowed, unable to handle the twelve demigods a second longer.

Silence descended upon the throne room as the twelve demigods blinked over at Nico with their mouths slightly agape in shock.

The gods were all stumped, not knowing whether they should laugh at the comical display, or avert their eyes at how disturbingly eerie it was.

Apollo warily examined them. " _You_ _sure_ you didn't rehearse this beforehand?" he hesitantly parroted his previous inquiry.

"Yes," the twelve demigods simultaneously responded before groaning, all of them clapping their foreheads in irritation at the same time.

Hazel, her eyes wide, shook her head and addressed the room, "Let's just uh… continue watching." The twelve demigods unconsciously opened their mouths to agree with her, but the daughter of Pluto hastened to raise a hand up, efficiently silencing them, " _Without_ any comments."

Dionysus, who had been – _surprisingly_ – enjoying the entertainment the demigods were providing him with, scowled at Hazel and, grumbling cantankerously to himself, re-opened his magazine. "Buzzkill," he murmured.

" **Morning, sunshine," Sam announced.**

 **Dean blinked groggily at him and slowly moved to sit upright, careful not to disturb Liv. "What time is it?"**

" **Uh, it's about five forty-five."**

Eyes widening in horror, the twelve aforementioned demigods yelled, "IN THE MORNING?"

"Okay! _That's it_. You twelve are on a time-out!" Nico snapped, glaring daggers at them.

Annabeth arched an eyebrow and folded her arms together. "And what exactly does 'time-out'-" her, Piper and Rachel made quotation marks with their fingers, and Annabeth continued, "entail?"

Nico and Hazel looked at each and then back at the twelve demigods, and simultaneously said, "No talking for at least five minutes."

Frank groaned, "Not you too!"

The siblings smiled sheepishly and kept their mouths shut.

"Our children are so weird," Hermes commented, grinning wildly at the amusing scene.

" **In the morning?" Dean shot back in disbelief.**

The twelve demigods opened their mouths, but were promptly silenced by the twin looks of promised death Nico and Hazel fixated them with.

 **Liv groaned into the pillow when Sam affirmed Dean's inquiry. "Samuel Winchester, I'm gonna kill you," Liv snapped, her voice still hoarse with sleep. She propped herself on her elbows and glared at him through hooded lids. "Who gets up at this ungodly hour?" she demanded angrily.**

"Hey, I take offense to that," Apollo pouted.

Cue a few eye rolls.

 **Dean and Sam grimaced. Then, a winsome smile materialized on Sam's face, and he said, "I got donuts.** _ **Extra**_ _ **glaze**_ **…"**

 **Liv perked up at that and Dean smiled widely as he distributed the coffee. "Oh and look here, Sammy got you coffee,** _ **black**_ **," he tempted her, putting the coffee under her nose.**

Percy's nose wrinkled in distaste. "I don't know what's so appealing about black coffee. It's so bitter and-" he shuddered in emphasis.

"Yeah," Will rapidly bobbed his head. "I need at least three spoonfuls of sugar with my morning coffee."

Nico and Annabeth shrugged, them being avid black coffee drinkers themselves, "It's not so bad."

Hecate smiled softly at the demigods, "It's an acquired taste."

The Queen of Gods aggressively rolled her eyes at the banal topic, unable to believe they were discussing such an inane topic, wasting her precious time in the process. Hestia noticed her younger sister's reaction and sighed desolately to herself, at a huge loss of what to do in regards to her embittered sister.

 **She sighed, a blissful smile on her face. Liv extended both hands out and almost immediately, Dean placed the coffee in her hand and Sam handed her a big, fat, sugary donut. "You guys are totally abusing my weaknesses. No fair," she jokingly pouted, taking a large bite out of her donut and smearing the lower half of her face with the glaze.**

Aphrodite smiled fondly and cooed at the adorable sight, and she wasn't the only one. Ariadne, Persephone, Hestia, Hermes, Poseidon and Amphitrite stared affectionately at the screen, avidly observing as Olivia absentmindedly wiped the glaze from the lower half of her face with the back of her hand.

On the other hand, unseen to all but Apollo, since he had been keeping an alert eye on him, awaiting his subsequent reaction, Ares stubbornly clenched his eyelids shut and tilted his head away from the screen, as though he were desperately clinging to his mask of indifference, and only when Dean's voice permeated the air, did his flaming orbs snap open, having won whatever battle that had been waging in his head.

With a sigh of defeat, the sun god fixated his intense eyes back onto the screen.

" **Did you get any sleep last night?" Dean asked as Liv leaned against the headrest of the bed, absorbed in her coffee and donut.**

 **Sam nodded, "Yeah, I grabbed a couple of hours."**

 **Dean scoffed, lifting a skeptical eyebrow at his brother, "Liar. 'Cause I was up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman infomercial."**

Rachel let out a soft chuckle, "That infomercial is _so_ overused."

Piper's brow furrowed in concentration. "Wasn't he a famous heavyweight boxer?" she asked uncertainly.

Upon hearing the word 'boxer', Ares straightened his posture and smirked, his expression a mixture of fierce pride and unmistakable glee.

"He's not _just_ a 'famous heavyweight boxer'," Clarisse scoffed, and the demigods that knew her intimately easily detected her pride regarding the subject and the tad hint of affront aimed at the daughter of Aphrodite for downplaying Foreman's many accomplishments. "Big George is a _two-time_ world heavyweight champion _AND_ an Olympic gold medalist, among other things. Out of a total of eighty-one fights, he only lost five. _Five_! He was also inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame _AND_ the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Guy's a legend!" she proclaimed, slightly out of breath.

Percy frowned, "How'd you know all that?"

Simultaneously, Thalia blinked in confusion, "I didn't know you were a boxing fan."

"George Foreman's a son of Ares, idiots," Clarisse smirked, her declaration prompting every demigod, but Annabeth, to swivel their heads, gawking at Ares in a mixture of shock and astonishment.

Ares puffed up, his handsomely scarred face bright with pride and he shot a quick wink at Clarisse, silently acknowledging his daughter for being well-informed of her half-siblings.

Athena bit her lip in an effort to prevent a vicious retort that would go along the lines of having a boxing champion for a son nothing to be proud of.

Zeus on the other hand, sniffed in slight envy, obviously not liking the fact that he no longer had demigod children of his own to take pride in their accomplishments like his sisters and children, due to the accursed vow he forced himself and his two brothers to partake in. He then eyed Thalia and Jason, wondering if they made him proud in the future.

" **Foreman's the boss!" Liv absently commented with her mouth slightly full, her dark eyes searching for another donut. She picked another glazed donut and ignored her cousins amused eyes as she bit into it, a dreamy moan emanating from her plump lips.**

A half-smirk erupted on Ares's features upon hearing Olivia's assertion and he adamantly disregarded Aphrodite's knowing grin.

The interaction however, went ignored by Apollo, for the moment that innocent yet seductive moan burst through Olivia's succulent and rosy lips, arousal smacked him in the face and his member reacted alarmingly, swiftly stiffening and giving him a sense of yearning that would, unfortunately, remain unsatisfied. Apollo squeezed his thighs together and hastily conjured Pasiphaë's son in his head, the grotesque image successfully obliterating all sexual thoughts of Olivia in the blink of an eye. Subtly and casually looking around the room, he breathed a sigh of relief, for he realized he was not the only one to react so strongly – Poseidon, Zeus and Hermes sat stiff in their respective thrones, uncomfortable and flushed expressions adorning their faces.

Artemis, Athena and Hera gritted their teeth and glowered ferociously at the four gods, their obvious and instantaneous arousal not going unnoticed by either one of them, not in the slightest.

 **Dean smiled fondly at her. Sam raised his hand defensively, "Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV."**

" **When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?" Dean inquired, green eyes alight with concern. But Sam brushed him off, "I don't know, a little while, I guess it's not a big deal."**

 **The eldest Winchester sent him a mild glare, "Yeah, it is"**

"A good night's sleep is very important," Hestia softly interjected, her childish features tight with concern.

Percy nodded in agreement, "Yeah, especially in their line of work. Fighting monsters without a decent night's sleep is detrimental."

"You'd know, Seaweed Brain," Thalia ribbed him.

The son of Poseidon rolled his eyes in exasperation, " _One time_! You gotta let that one go."

Annabeth smirked, "Lucky I was there to watch your back."

All exasperation and slight irritation melted away at Annabeth's comment as he offered her a dopey smile, chastely kissing the crown of her head in response, much to Athena's aggravation and Poseidon's amusement.

 **Sam threw him an ugly look, "Look, I appreciate your concern –"**

" **Oh, I'm not concerned about you," Dean instantly shot him down, his lips tugging into a mischievous half-smirk. "It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp."**

"Burn!" the Stolls exclaimed, eyes shining with mirth.

Leo giddily bounced in his seat in front of Jason and Piper, "I think I'm developing a man-crush on that guy! He's so sarcastic and witty, and never backs down from a battle of wits."

Piper chuckled while Jason good-naturedly rolled his eyes at his best friend.

Nico surreptitiously stiffened. He was still unaccustomed to the twenty-first century's acceptance regarding homosexuality, having grown up during a time where such tendencies of sexual desire or attraction toward another of the same sex were not only taboo, but a crime. Yet currently, Leo widely and unabashedly professed a romantic inclination toward Dean Winchester – albeit a statement made with apparent humor – and nobody batted an eyelash or sported looks of revulsion. In fact, every occupant in the throne room seemed unfazed by Leo's comment and, upon closer inspection, Nico recognized a few gods – _including his father?!_ – displaying obvious signs of lust.

' _What the Hades?!_ ' he mentally gaped.

Having noticed Nico's subtle reaction, Will sighed in commiseration, running a hand down his face in exasperation. He was a patient guy, but he didn't know how long it would take for Nico, the boy he had developed a huge, irrevocable crush on, to accept that the times had changed. _Heck_ , even the gods, his own father included, had affairs with many from the same gender that went back through the millenniums, and those dalliances were proudly advertised as well if their history books had anything to say about it.

 **Sam shrugged. "Okay, you want to go there? What were** _ **you**_ **doing up at three?" he suddenly retorted in afterthought. Unconsciously, Dean's eyes flickered toward Olivia's direction, who was more absorbed in inhaling her coffee than the bickering brothers before her. Recognition dawned on Sam and, not heeding Dean's warning glare, he addressed his cousin, "Liv, you've been having nightmares?"**

 **Dean groaned loudly and Liv froze halfway through sucking off the glaze from her fingertips.**

"The poor dear," Aphrodite cooed.

Ares rolled his eyes at the runt's weakness. "She should toughen up. Nightmares are a regular occurrence for children, especially demigods," he growled, expression dark.

"She didn't say _anything_ ," Rachel heatedly retorted, feeling the sudden urge to come to Liv's defense. "Sam's the one that brought it up! You're just looking for any reason to pick on and demean Liv!" she snapped.

Artemis smirked and leaned into her twin's personal space to whisper in his ear, "Like I said, I like your Oracle."

Clenching his fists at the Oracle's audacity, Ares sneered, "I'm simply stating facts-"

"You're beginning to sound more and more like me, brother," Dionysus smirked, having eagerly put his magazine away when the events started to unfold moments ago.

A dangerous growl rumbled in the room as Ares glared daggers at the drunken loon.

Poseidon bit back an amused chuckle and decided to help Hestia out. Placating, he spread his arms wide as though he were embracing the room and gently announced, "Enough bickering. Ares, you are allowing your anger to take over your common sense, and therefore giving Dionysus leeway to feed your anger. Be calm. And Dionysus, stop trying to provoke your brother when he's in a certain mood." Benign sea-green eyes that held a perpetual sense of merriment swiftly flickered to the sheepish yet indignant redhead, "As for our charming Oracle, Ms. Dare _is_ entitled to an opinion Ares. On the contrary, you should be pleased that your daughter seems to be gathering admirers of her own." He then winked at her.

Rachel blushed profusely but smiled all the same and hastened to look away.

Ares simply grumbled like a petulant child would and kept his silence, purposely overlooking Aphrodite's disappointed stare that seemed to be burning a hole in the side of his head.

While Hestia sent Poseidon a smile that reeked of admiration and appreciation, Zeus and Hera glared enviously, twin huffs of irritation escaping their lips. For some perplexing reason, Poseidon seemed to have a knack for calming nearly _anybody_ down, and the most infuriating fact of all, was that Zeus's children were more inclined to listen to Poseidon more than he, _their father_!

 **Scowling, Liv didn't miss a beat with her retort, her tone almost daring, "You still having nightmares about Jess?"**

The atmosphere in the room grew tense at the reminder of Jessica's cruel demise and it took much effort on Aphrodite's part to blink back tears at the mention of her latest favorite couple's expiration date.

"Okay, that was cold," Hazel admitted.

Ares couldn't help but feel slightly impressed.

 **Sam gripped his coffee tighter and crossed the room, depositing himself on the other bed, opposite to Dean and Liv. "Yeah, I am. But it's not just her," he spoke in a voice of forced calm, locking eyes with her. "I just forgot, you know? This job," he sighed, looking down at the carpeted floor almost desolately. "Man, it gets to you."**

 **Liv's expression softened and she fumbled with her coffee, nervously taking a large sip. Dean placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he addressed Sam, "You can't let it. You can't bring it home like that."**

" **So, what? All this it…** _ **never**_ **keeps you up at night?" Sam said in a mixture of disbelief and curiosity, eyes flickering between his brother and cousin. In unison, Dean and Liv shook their heads, although Liv didn't share Dean's confidence. "Never?" Sam cynically pressed. "You're** _ **never**_ **afraid?"**

 **Dean smirked, "No, not really."**

"They're both lying," Apollo drawled, almost lazily, his intense blue eyes flickering intently between Dean and Olivia's defiant visages, a knowing smirk materializing on his devastatingly handsome face.

A gentle smile materialized on Persephone's face. "Of course they are lying. For everyone falls victim to fear," she stated.

"I don't," Ares growled, glaring at the Queen of the Underworld at the mere insinuation that _he_ , _Ares_ , the God of _War_ , could fall prey to pesky mortal sentimentalities, such as fear. All eyes were fixated on the war god, and Aphrodite even went as far as to arch an eyebrow at him in regards to his fervent state of denial – a feat that appeared to be a constant ever since the Fates intruded into their lives and uncovered the existence of a secret demigod. "What are you all staring at me for? _I have no fears_!" he angrily exclaimed.

Even the sanctimonious and prideful Zeus found himself disagreeing with his impetuous, arrogant son.

The demigods smartly kept their mouths firmly shut, unwilling to butt heads with the gods, especially with Ares in his current state. None of them failed to notice the war god's dangerous spike in temper from the moment he abruptly fled to his temple before the congregation for lunch.

"Darling, even we are not immune to having fears," Hera softly imparted, deciding for a gentler approach.

"You forget who my sons are? I bred the embodiment of fear and terror. By all means, I am immune to it!" Ares snarled, his gait leaning more and more towards arrogance.

Once again, Aphrodite arched an eyebrow at her lover, "You forget that I carried Phobos and Deimos to term, Ares. And yet, I too succumb to what they represent." Just as Ares opened his mouth to retort, she raised a hand, halting his incoming speech and said, "Even Fear itself suffers from fear. I would know. I _am_ his mother."

The moment the topic revolved around her half-brothers, the ones whom she feared alongside her own father, Clarisse stiffened and clutched onto Chris's hand in a vice grip. However, as the conversation ensued, she slowly started to relax and her jaw comically dropped once Aphrodite had her say, unable to wrap her head around the fact that Phobos himself, suffered from his own jurisdiction – the very emotion he embodied, warped, abused and twisted to feed his cruelty and his ego, malefic eyes watching with disturbing amount of glee as others suffered his wrath. And yet, he wasn't immune to the very emotion he epitomized. It was a huge eye opener and a balm for the previous unhealed wounds, wounds she suffered from the twins that took immense pleasure in torturing her and watching her suffer when they stole Ares's chariot from right under her nose.

Ares didn't want to admit, but he knew Aphrodite was right. He may come off as a neglectful, uncaring and abusive father, but he knew his children. He knew their fears, their hopes, their wishes and their dreams. He intimately knew everything there was to know about his children; _all_ his children – _including_ his demigod offspring. But he despised admitting to any sort or form of attachment or weakness and so, he profusely denied, raged and exuded utmost arrogance, displaying many masks of indifference, cruelty and apathy that only Aphrodite had the gift to see past. In fact, Ares weakness was tantamount to his fear, and only Aphrodite knew of them: he feared losing her and for harm to befall his children, therefore, showcasing his weaknesses – Aphrodite and his offspring. Two fears, two weaknesses, that none would be able to guess, for none believed the God of War held on to any emotion but lust, both of the body and battle. Ares holding on to such sentimentality, or caring for anything other than warfare was simply unheard of, and his behavior encouraged them to continue onwards with their beliefs, for it was advantageous to him.

"Wise words, Aphrodite," Poseidon grinned, sending her a respectful nod.

Fuming, Athena sneered at Ares, Aphrodite and Poseidon, the three Olympians she had a rivalry and a sense of distaste with. The aggravating God of the Sea daring to call the vapid whore that represented love, _wise!_ drove her insane with rage and prompted the last vestiges of her patience to crumble.

"You forget, Ares," she sneered, her tone smug and reeking with venom, "that thanks to your little skirmish with the Aloadae Giants, we all know of what you fear intensely!"

The already tensed atmosphere in the throne room skyrocketed and many sharp intakes of breath could be heard reverberating against the walls from but the moment Athena's callous and venomous words sprung forth from her acidic lips. Aphrodite clutched Ares' hand, providing tactile contact as an anchor and even Hephaestus ceased tinkering in favor of leveling a harsh glare at the goddess he had always respected, for crossing the line. While nearly every god in the room had a strained relationship with the war god, none of them hesitated in coming to Ares' defense, who was paling rapidly, his expression warring between fury and shock.

However, the room at large was rendered speechless when, just as the screaming was about to begin and weapons were halfway drawn, the most unexpected person pierced Athena with a glare of utmost malice and harshly addressed her in defense of Ares.

"You think that's funny? An incident you wield like a weapon to win an argument, or just for the sake of salvaging your ego?! Sealed and imprisoned in a Jar by those twin bastards that were created for the sole purpose of usurping each of your domains! Days, weeks, months in a death trance, all the air sucked out, suffocating-"

Will, Percy, Jason, Thalia, Hazel and Annabeth quickly surrounded Nico as he croaked, sagging weakly in their protective arms, though his dark orbs never strayed from Athena's bewildered gaze.

"Nico, you're shaking, calm down," Hazel fussed, clucking her tongue like a mother hen and carding a hand through his silky black hair, her unique gold eyes swarming with worry.

But Nico wasn't done, and he sneered at the goddess of wisdom, "Until you've suffered under the torture of the Bronze Jar, keep your toxic mouth shut."

"YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME WITH SUCH BLATANT DISRESPECT, HALF-BLOOD!" Athena screeched, anger and affront overcoming her state of bemusement. "I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SMITE YOU WHERE YOU STAND-"

Hades' animalistic growl echoed in the room, his black eyes flaring with purple fire at Athena's words and the threat towards his son. "Try it. And you'll find a permanent residence in the depths of Tartarus. Go ahead. I _dare_ you," he sneered, defending his son without hesitation.

"Father!" Athena, though pale and shaking at Hades' threat, bravely whirled around to confront her father, expectantly awaiting his resolute defense of her person. But to her shock, he remained silent, staring back at his favorite daughter in unadulterated disappointment. It was no secret that Zeus favored Athena the most, and that Ares was his least favored child. Therefore, abandoning Athena deeply portrayed that she had, in fact, stepped out of line.

A clearing of the throat snapped the gods out of their shocked stupor, and they turned to Percy Jackson, who still had a firm grasp on Nico along with the other demigods that came to his aid.

"Yes, Percy?" Poseidon inquired, worried eyes flickering between Ares and Percy.

But it was Annabeth that spoke up, adamantly avoiding her mother's gaze. "Can we be excused for a minute?" and without waiting for their permission, she, alongside Will, Percy, Jason, Thalia and Hazel dragged a trembling Nico out of the throne room, slamming the doors shut behind them, and engulfing them in a suffocating silence.

"I'm fine, Affie," Ares patted his lover, brushing aside her inquiries regarding his wellbeing, his flaming sockets never straying from the closed double-doors as he pondered the perplexing behavior the son of Hades displayed. If he didn't know any better, his _familiar_ reaction heavily implied that perhaps he wasn't the only soul that had been trapped in the accursed Bronze Jar, and he was curious as to how the boy found himself in such a perilous situation in the future. ' _Is it possible the Giants rose again?_ ' he thought.

Zeus glowered at his suddenly meek daughter, who was upset over the fact that not only did her father not come to her aid, but her daughter as well. "We will be discussing this afterwards, Daughter. And you shall never bring up such a topic again, you hear me?" he demanded in a growl, shocking Ares even more, for it had been eons since his father sided with him in anything.

"Understood," she responded in a quiver, head bowed submissively.

The doors suddenly opened, and the seven demigods silently entered, depositing themselves in their respective seats. Nico, while looking much better, still held a pale sheen to his visage and when the other demigods eyed him apprehensively, he offered them a tight-lipped smile, prompting small sighs of relief.

"Nico?" Hades firmly called out. Posture tensed, he looked up and met his father's worried gaze and in afterthought, Hades sighed, his tone softening, "Would you care to enlighten us the reason behind your upsetting reaction?"

Jason cleared his throat, "Spoilers. It's not the time, but… later."

Displeased, yet grudgingly comprehending the demigods' wariness, Hades reluctantly nodded in defeat, and as the screen resumed, he couldn't help but shoot looks of worriment at his son every few seconds as though ensuring with his own two eyes that his son was indeed amongst him and relatively healthy.

 **In response, a skeptical Sam reached under the pillows Dean and Liv shared and pulled out a large hunting knife and a silver dagger, holding them up as evidence.**

Travis and Connor couldn't help but snicker at the comical sight.

 **Dean took his knife back, "That's not fear.** _ **That**_ **is precaution."**

"Better to be always prepared than caught off-guard," Annabeth wisely imparted, her expression grim.

 **Liv snatched her dagger and glared at Sam, "Wow, Sammy-Boy. Out of practice, much? I'm seriously beginning to wonder how you managed to survive four years at Stanford without us."**

"Girl's got a point," Ares grumbled to himself, reluctantly impressed by her sense of self-preservation and her sharp tongue.

 **Sam threw her a bitch face just as Dean's phone rang, halting any further argument between the two.**

" **Hello?" Dean answered.**

 **The scene then alternated between the motel room and an office where a bald man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, sat behind his desk and on the phone with Dean.**

" **Dean, it's, uh, it's Jerry Panowski," he nervously prefaced. "You, your cousin and your dad helped me out a couple years back."**

Hera desperately wished to make a snide comment over the fact that Olivia had been incessantly placed in danger from a young age, but she bit her tongue as she knew it would be extremely hypocritical of her and that she would only be initiating a recurring argument with the demigods, as they had more than once reminded her that they had been trained to fight and kill monsters from a fragile age.

In contrast to the Queen of Olympus, Artemis was proud of the girl, and secretly, she found herself undeniably impressed with John and Dean for not excluding her from hunts due to her gender, therefore proving that not all men were chauvinistic jackalopes.

 **Dean paused briefly before his eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing." He then met Liv's gaze, who mouthed '** _ **Jerry**_ **' and he nodded before addressing him once again, "It's not back, is it?"**

Hades and Nico sighed in sync, deciding to forgo voicing their disbelief at the mention of the existence of poltergeists.

" **No. No. Thank god, no," Jerry chuckled nervously, dragging a hand over his bald head. "But it's something else, and…uh, I think it could be a lot worse."**

"I believe we are about to be enlightened over the identity of that mystical entity," Artemis proclaimed, leaning forward in her seat and unable to deftly conceal the interest from her youthful visage. In fact, nearly every occupant in the room stared intently at the screen with poorly veiled curiosity.

 **Worried, Dean asked, "What is it?"**

 **The scene shifted to Jerry's office, "Can we talk in person?"**

 **Dean eyed Sam and Liv, both of whom were staring back at him before the scene abruptly changed, consecutively portraying the Impala driving along a road, followed by an extensive hangar.**

 **Smiling, Jerry approached the three hunters. "Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean, Olivia and your dad really helped me," he addressed Sam.**

"What an endearing mortal. Manners that one, he must be on a healthy diet of cereals," Demeter smiled fondly, prompting many eyes to roll aggressively in their sockets and for Katie's face to redden in mortification at her mother's statement.

Hades let out a suffering sigh. "If that's the case, Demeter, then where are your manners?" he retorted, unable to let it go.

Demeter scowled at him and made to get up from her throne, "Why you-"

" _Enough_ ," Hestia sighed in resignation. "Hades, don't provoke our sister."

Grumbling at being treated like a naughty child, Hades looked away, a petulant scowl on his pale visage as Demeter smirked haughtily.

 **Liv smiled fondly, "What did I tell you, Jerry. You've earned the right to call me Liv."**

 **Jerry simply grinned in reply and beckoned for the Winchesters to walk with him.**

" **Yeah, they told me. It was a poltergeist?" Sam spoke up.**

 **A random man overheard, and smirked at them, "** _ **Poltergeist**_ **? Man I loved that movie."**

Piper instantly nodded in agreement, "As far as scary movies go, that one wasn't so bad. I wouldn't mind watching it again."

Leo wearily shook his head, "Our lives are scary enough, thank you very much."

"Hey, I watched it _before_ I knew about my demigod status," Piper defended good-naturedly.

Jason chuckled and pressed his girlfriend closer to him, placing a kiss on her forehead as she snuggled into him.

Aphrodite squealed at the adorable sight and waggled her brows at Zeus, who simply stared, a blank expression adorning his features.

" **Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking," Jerry scowled at the man. Once the man was out of hearing range, he turned back to Sam, "Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something, if it wasn't for Liv, Dean and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"**

 **Sam nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable as he avoided Dean and Liv's gaze, "Yeah, I was. I'm… taking some time off." He then glared upon hearing Liv snort.**

"So… poltergeist… that's like a ghost right?" Chris inquired.

Sounding as though she had swallowed a dictionary whole, Annabeth recapitulated, "It's supposedly a ghost or other supernatural being responsible for physical disturbances. They make loud noises and enjoy throwing objects about."

"Yeah, but to go by Rowling's definition-" Rachel, ever the avid Harry Potter fan, enthusiastically added her input, "-they're ghosts that relish in causing chaos and mayhem and they love creating disturbances. But unlike ghosts, they were never human but an indestructible spirit of chaos with no physical form."

Hades surprised the room at large when his dark orbs settled on Piper, his gaze intense, "The term 'poltergeist' is an anomaly to me. I am afraid I am only aware of its universal meaning. Enlighten me of this movie you previously spoke of."

Electrified at the sudden attention fixated upon her and at being addressed directly by the intimidating god, Piper sat ramrod straight and met the Lord of the Underworld's gaze with respect shining in her kaleidoscopic eyes. "Short version, a family of five move into a house built on an Indian burial ground and start becoming plagued by strange and creepy happenings. Ghosts commune with them through the television, violent earthquakes occur in the house, a glass of milk breaks, silverware bends and furniture moves around, among other bizarre events. Initially friendly, the spirits become malevolent and abduct the family's youngest daughter. And then it gets messy when the family starts looking into an exorcism. Bottom line, the title of the movie was meant to describe the dictionary definition of a poltergeist," she shrugged, pink dots materializing on her porcelain cheek when she concluded her rambling and found that everyone's attention was fixated solely on her, many pairs of eyes staring at her with utmost concentration.

Apollo decided to break the solemn ambience, "Well, that's definitely a movie I'm gonna look into. Seems very interesting."

Smirking mischievously, Hermes grinned, "Count me in."

Hades stroked his lower lip, pondering the daughter of Aphrodite as well as the Oracle's words, "Yes, interesting indeed. Definitely interesting."

"Let us proceed," Persephone smiled, linking her hand with Hades'. She knew that the overabundant information would plague him for a while. Her husband was just learning to get used to the fact that ghosts exist and could in fact, roam around mortal ground without the need of a summoner, and now, with the notion that ghosts were split into multiple categories such as, Woman in White and violent spirits, and now adding poltergeist into the mix, it was simply too much to handle for the god responsible for the Dead and the Underworld, and he needed time to process and compartmentalize the astronomical change in his beliefs, beliefs he thought were set in stone for many millennia.

" **Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time," Jerry divulged, and this time, it was Liv and Dean's turn to shift uncomfortably.**

"He was?" Percy, the Stolls and Chris gaped, baffled.

" **He did?" Sam's face looked the epitome of surprised, his chocolate orbs flickering from Dean, to Liv and lastly, settled on Jerry, who smiled and nodded.**

" **Yeah, you bet he did.**

Athena nodded haughtily, "Good. He should be. Getting accepted into Stanford is no simple feat."

Aphrodite sneered at the goddess of wisdom for speaking, for she had yet to forgive her for the callous words she directed towards Ares.

"He didn't want his son to stray far from his watchful eye, especially with his never-ending paranoia. He allowed his anger to get the best of him and verbally disowned Samuel, but that does not mean he was not secretly proud of his son's accomplishment and his bravery to make a stand and set out in the world," Amphitrite hypothesized, a soft smile on her face.

Poseidon nodded, his sea-green eyes glowing with warmth and love as his gaze roamed between Triton and Percy, "As a father, I can relate. He couldn't admit that his son was old enough to set out on his own, especially in a vast world where he knew of its many dangers and the deadly beings that lurked in the dark. His cruel words spoken to Sam were merely the desperation of an overprotective father, unwilling to let his child leave his safety."

Nearly every goddess in the room cooed at Poseidon as the sons of the sea-god shifted in their respective seats, slightly embarrassed yet definitely touched upon distinguishing the meaning behind Poseidon's words and the obvious care he unabashedly portrayed towards them.

All the demigods however, barring Percy, couldn't help but feel envious over the fact that unlike Poseidon, their respective godly parent were incapable of showing them a smidgeon of affection or even bother to reveal to them in simple words how much they cared for them and their wellbeing – _if_ they even cared about them in the first place.

Hestia noticed, for she stared sadly at the demigods and subsequently shot Zeus, Hades, Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Demeter and Aphrodite harsh glares of disapproval.

 **Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?" Jerry inquired, changing the topic.**

" **He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now," Dean vaguely offered.**

 **Jerry nodded, his smile never wavering, "Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam. Even trade, huh?"**

"Such a well-mannered and kind-hearted man," Hera commented, her lips tugging upwards into a small smile.

Zeus glared, jealousy rearing its ugly head as he misunderstood the compliment his wife bestowed upon the mortal man.

 **Dean and Liv laughed while Sam murmured, "No, not by a long shot."**

" **I got something I want you guys to hear," Jerry added, leading them into his office. He held a CD in his hand and placed it in a drive, "I listened to this. And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley. Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours."**

Curiosity heightened, and the throne room was engulfed in complete silence as the recording played.

" **Mayday!** _ **Mayday**_ **! Repeat! This is United Britannia 2485 – immediate instruction help! United Britannia 2485, I copy your message – May be experiencing some mechanical failure…"**

 **A loud whooshing sound could be heard from the recording.**

" **Took off from here, crashed about two hundred miles south," Jerry explained, staring solemnly between the Winchesters as the recording ended. "Now, they're saying mechanical failure.**

Cue multiple snorts of disbelief.

"The simplicity of mortal minds," Dionysus drawled in nonchalance as he began perusing a different wine magazine.

Rachel glowered at him, having taken deep offense to his derogatory and bigoted comment.

 **Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board. Only seven got out alive.**

Every female gasped at the severe amount of fatalities.

"This justifies my fear of flying," Percy mumbled, prompting vehement nods of agreement from Nico, Hazel and Thalia, the latter's agreement eliciting a frown of bemused disapproval from Zeus, who couldn't comprehend his daughter's perplexing reaction with his domain.

 **Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh…well, he's pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault," Jerry concluded, his expression reflecting sorrow.**

 **Liv arched an eyebrow, and in a non-judgmental tone, inquired, "You don't think it was?"**

" **No, I don't," Jerry adamantly refuted, his voice strong with conviction.**

"Honestly… if I hadn't seen _how exactly_ the plane crashed, I would've probably brushed it off as a simple plane crash," Rachel admitted, looking guilty.

Clarisse offered the Oracle a rare smile, "Don't feel bad, Crazy Town. I'd've probably thought the same thing. You hear things like plane crashes, and you don't really think about something supernatural being responsible for such a large-scale accident in the first place."

"She's right," Percy declared, smiling at the redhead and providing her with comfort. Seeing Clarisse's smug smile, the son of Poseidon shot her a mock-scowl. "Don't get used to it, though. You're rarely ever right," he teased.

"Hell just froze over," Connor stated in a stage whisper.

Hades scoffed inwardly; ' _there's no such thing as Hell,_ ' he mentally grumbled.

Clarisse leaned forward and smacked him across the head.

"Ouch! Chris, control your girl," Connor whined, rubbing his abused head.

His comment had him on the receiving end of another smack.

Chris chuckled, wounding an arm around his girlfriend, "Sorry, Con. Can't help you there."

"Travis?" Connor whined, a pout forming on his face as he beseeched his big brother.

Grinning, Travis shrugged, "Sorry, bro. Like Chris said, you're on your own."

Hermes eyes shone with mirth as he observed the interaction between his sons.

"Wow, I feel so lucky to have you two as brothers," Connor sarcastically quipped, though it was obvious to everyone that his words held no heat and he was merely teasing, playing along.

Before Hera could chastise them for wasting her precious time with their inane chattering, the sons of Hermes settled down and the screen resumed.

 **Sam nodded, "Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, um, a list of survivors."**

 **Once Jerry agreed without hesitation, Dean added, "And, uh, any way we can take a look at the wreckage?"**

 **Jerry looked conflicted, "The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage…fellas, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance."**

 **Dean's frown quickly morphed into a smirk that reflected Liv's as she said, "No problemo."**

Hermes whooped, having caught the underlying meaning behind Olivia's words.

"They're gonna break in?" Apollo grinned, looking much like the cat that caught the canary.

"They're gonna break in," Hermes excitedly echoed.

The Stolls, Chris, Leo, Percy, Jason and Nico breathed out, " _Awesome_!"

And even Dionysus subtly looked away from his magazine, keeping an attentive eye on the screen.

Athena scowled, "Tis no matter to take pride in."

"Oh do us all a favor and keep your poisonous tongue behind your teeth, Athena," Poseidon snapped, in no mood for her irate rambling.

Her scowl became even more pronounced.

 **The scene changed; Sam stood by the Impala which was parked outside a Copy Jack while Liv lounged in the backseat, her brow furrowed with concentration as she sharpened her dagger, smoothly moving the edge of the blade along the length of the whetstone.**

Ares was nodding in approval at her actions before he caught himself and abruptly halted.

Aphrodite and Apollo smirked at him but kept their silence regarding the matter; they could tell that whether he wanted to or not, Ares was slowly becoming attached to the special demigod.

" **You've been in there forever," Sam complained the moment Dean strolled out.**

 **The eldest Winchester held up three IDs. "You can't rush perfection," he cockily announced.**

Rachel facepalmed, having a good idea where this was going, and she knew that she wasn't going to be onboard with whatever plan the Winchesters concocted.

…Not _at all_!

Leo bit back his laughter upon recognizing the annoyance that was slowly beginning to materialize on the redhead's visage.

 **Leaning forward, Liv stretched her hand out and took the ID Dean offered. "Homeland Security?" she arched an amused brow at him.**

 **Sam however, didn't share her amusement, "That's pretty** _ **illegal**_ **, even for us."**

"I love that he felt the need to add the 'even for us' part," Percy chuckled into Annabeth's hair, prompting a giggle to emanate from her lips.

Nobody else heard the couple as their interaction was drowned out by the incensed Oracle as she kicked off her predictable rant.

"Damn right it's illegal! Impersonating ANYONE is illegal," Rachel huffed, unable to contain her anger any further.

Dionysus rolled his eyes at the insufferable brat. "One would think, after repeating the same tirade for the nth time, one would finally give up and cease their irritating ramblings. You are proving to be the most bothersome mortal I have _ever_ had the misfortune to meet, Raquel."

"It's _Rachel_!" she retorted heatedly.

The wine god simply waved a hand absentmindedly, " _Whatever_."

"Rach, they carry out illegal acts to _save lives_. Can't you just… let it go?" Katie appeared to be the only demigod brave enough to confront the incensed Oracle.

When Rachel paused, her anger slowly receding, Frank quickly took over, "Would you prefer they investigate the incident legally, which could end up time-consuming and therefore, giving leeway for another plane to crash, adding another hundred to the fatalities? Or, they speed up the process by carrying things out _illegally_ and ultimately saving hundreds of lives?"

Grumbling, Rachel folded her arms against her chest and sighed in resignation, though her pretty face was clouded with mild guilt and a touch of stubbornness. "You're right. I guess I'm such a stickler for rules that I let myself get blinded for a moment there. I'll try and keep my complaining to a minimum."

"Or simply keep your opinions to yourself at all times. I'm not picky, really," Dionysus drawled, adding in his two cents.

Rachel merely glowered at him.

"Hey, stop picking on my Oracle, D," Apollo defended, throwing the redhead a cheeky wink.

 **Dean shrugged and went to open the passenger door, "Yeah, well it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times." As he and Sam got in the car, Dean started driving and addressed Liv, "All right, Liv, what do you got?"**

 **Putting away her dagger and whetstone, Liv grabbed the tape recorder and leaned forward, "Definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder. I edited the tape. Listen."**

"EVP?" Hazel warily asked the room in general.

"Ghosts," Rachel and the Stolls replied in unison.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Wonderful. Just how many ghosts are out there wandering in the mortal world?!" he asked rhetorically.

"Two and counting," Percy smirked, referring to the Woman in White and the Sweeney kid that haunted the lake.

"I was being rhetorical, Percy," Nico groaned, his lips twitching slightly.

Hades snapped out of his deep musings and concentrated on the screen, his hand unconsciously tightening on Persephone's who had yet to release him from her soothing grip.

 **She played the tape and a scratchy voice reverberated in the Impala, "** _ **No survivors**_ **!"**

"Shit just got creepy," Rachel murmured, scooting over to be closer to Connor, his warmth offering her comfort.

Artemis cocked her head in confusion, "I thought the mortal man, Jerry, was it… didn't he state there were seven survivors?"

"I believe he did, sis," Apollo concurred, his expression mirroring Artemis's confusion.

 **Dean frowned, "** _ **"No survivors"**_ **? What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors."**

"Exactly," Artemis exclaimed.

Hermes couldn't help but comment, "You're agreeing with a man, Artemis."

The Goddess of the Hunt didn't share his amusement, whatsoever.

" **Got me," Sam shrugged.**

" **Stuff's mindboggling," Liv added, tossing the tape recorder aside and reclaiming her dagger as she went back to sharpening it.**

"At least the runt takes good care of her weapons," Ares growled lowly, uncaring if anyone heard the compliment he masked as a snide comment.

Aphrodite glared, unhappy with the degrading slur he adamantly referred to her as.

" **So what are you thinking? A haunted flight?" Dean guessed.**

 **Sam frowned, "There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers."**

"Death omens?" Hecate scowled, the term severely confusing her. Her eyes met Hades, both of them flummoxed at Sam's recounting.

Simultaneously, Ariadne tilted her head and inquired, "Phantom travelers?"

Confusion was the main emotion on nearly every occupant's faces, all but Zeus and Poseidon, both of whom turned rigid in their thrones at the remark regarding 'planes' and 'ships' respectively, their curiosity heightening. For contrary to popular belief, a belief mostly hypothesized and spread around by godlings, but not all air and sea disasters that have ever occurred were precipitated by them.

 **Dean let out a noncommittal hum before Liv gasped sharply from the backseat and exclaimed, "Maybe we've got a rendition of flight 401 on our hands!"**

 **Sam craned his neck to shoot Liv a surprised look from over his shoulder, obviously impressed at her deduction.**

"Always the look of surprise," Artemis grumbled under her breath, despising the fact that Sam continued to underestimate Olivia.

"Ahh, yes. Eastern Air Lines. Flight 401. Tristar jet crashed into the Florida Everglades at 11:42 pm on December 29, 1971," Apollo easily summarized, the event seared into his brain and committed to memory. "Tragic disaster. If my memory serves correctly, and I do believe it does, there were 101 fatalities," he sorrowfully concluded.

Nearly all eyes were on the Lord of the Sky, taking him aback.

"What? Why on Heavens are you all looking at me for?" he demanded in a gravelly voice.

Many pairs of eyes that belonged to the demigods flickered over to Jason and Thalia, silently conveying that it was safer for them to question their less than tolerant father.

"Well," Thalia scratched the nape of her neck. "The crash occurred in your domain…" she trailed off awkwardly.

Zeus harrumphed, torn between affront and anger. "Not all plane crashes were triggered by my rage, Thalia."

"I saw a documentary about that flight," Rachel suddenly announced, prompting all eyes on her. "The incident was a huge hit with Spiritists-"

She was interrupted by a confused Hazel, "Spiritists?"

Not missing a beat, Annabeth offhandedly explained, "People obsessed with spirits."

Nico and Hades comically sported twin expressions of incredulity.

"Right, so… as far as the legend of Flight 401 goes, parts of the airline were salvaged from the wreck, and then passengers swore that they were seeing the ghost of the pilot and co-pilot. The airline denied the planes were being haunted but in the end they eventually removed the salvaged parts," Rachel finished explaining in one breath.

Silence ensued until Leo, who sat on tenterhooks, probed, "And then?"

Rachel blinked, confused for a moment before she _ohh_ 'ed, embarrassed. "Then the hauntings suddenly stopped."

Pleased that the demigods were thirsting for knowledge, Athena added, "If you want to learn more, the incident was made into a book."

"And a movie," Annabeth enthusiastically piped up, sharing a conspiratorial smile with her mother. "They're both under the same name: _The Ghost of Flight 401_."

Hades snorted, "Utter claptrap. Nonsensical rubbish."

Surprisingly, Zeus was in complete agreement. "There are no 'ghosts'-" the word was viciously spat as though it was a huge offense to his person, "-in my realm!"

" **Right," Dean nodded, keeping his eyes peeled on the road. "The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and copilot haunted those flights."**

 **Sam nodded, "Right."**

"It sounds less interesting when he says it," Leo smirked.

"Because all of you wore the subject out," Hera sniped.

Annabeth and Thalia retaliated by throwing the goddess lethal glares.

" **Like I said. Maybe we've got a similar deal. Or some freaknut's a copycat," Liv commented, crinkling her nose in disdain.**

"That would be disturbing," Triton mumbled.

"Liv's not far off," Frank spoke up. "There are a lot of crazy people out there."

Rachel nodded, recalling a previous statement she once made, "I said it before and I'll say it again, there are some mortals out there that are worse than monsters."

The gods looked equally disturbed.

" **All right, so, survivors, which one do we talk to first?" Dean asked.**

 **Sam skimmed through the list Jerry gave him, "Third on the list: Max Jaffrey."**

" **Why him?" Dean inquired.**

" **Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did," he replied.**

"Ooh, I think I know who Sam's talking about," Katie piped up all of a sudden.

Travis frowned down at his girlfriend, "Who?"

Making herself comfortable in his embrace, she matter-of-factly explained, "There's only one person that saw that guy rip open the door. Remember?"

' _Ohhss_ ' reverberated in the throne room and Demeter smiled at her daughter, proud at her quick deduction.

Once again, Athena scowled for, _once again_ , having missed a crucial piece of information when a demigod didn't.

 **Dean briefly looked over at Sam before turning his attention back to the road, "What makes you say that?"**

" **Well I spoke to his mother," Sam informed them. The screen then showed the Impala parked in front of the gate that led to a building with a sign out front that read: RIVERFRONT PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, and Sam's voice echoed in the background, "And she told me where to find him."**

Dionysus tossed his magazine aside, his disposition brightening with excitement at the Winchesters current destination.

"Poor guy," Hermes grimaced.

"This is why it's equally dangerous for clear sighted mortals to speak the truth," Hecate empathized. "If they so choose to recount their observations, they get labeled as delusional and are sent to psychiatric hospitals."

Dionysus batted a hand in the air. "Yes. Such a pity," he commented, the tone of his voice and his expression clearly stating that he thought otherwise, which prompted many glares to be aimed at his person.

 **The boy from earlier had a cane in hand as he strolled down the garden, flanked on both sides by Sam and Dean. Liv stood on Dean's other side as she glanced over at their surroundings with distaste on her gorgeous features.**

" **I don't understand," Max was saying. "I already spoke with Homeland Security."**

 **Dean cleared his throat. "Right. Some new information has come up. So if you could just answer a couple questions…" he trailed off suggestively.**

"He's very good at thinking on his feet," Travis said in palpable admiration.

Connor grinned, bouncing in his seat, a huge grin on his face. It was obvious that he was currently fan-boying over Dean Winchester.

 **Sam took over, "Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything…** _ **unusual**_ **?"**

 **Sharp as a whip, Max asked, "Like what?"**

"Dead giveaway," Chris mumbled.

 **Liv snorted, the sound not sounding particularly mean, but leaning more towards condescending. "** _ **Like**_ **, something that would get people placed in this crazy house in the first place-** _ **ouch**_ **!" she hissed, glaring at Dean who had elbowed her, a warning on his face, despite the twitching of his lips.**

Laughter echoed in the room.

"Blunt and concise. I _love_ her!" Leo chuckled, wiping tears of laughter from his face.

Clarisse shrugged, her lips slowly curving into a smirk, "She does make an excellent point. No need to sugarcoat it. Besides, he's playing dumb on purpose."

"The Hermes cabin would welcome her with open arms," Chris smirked.

Hermes sighed wistfully, "If only she were my kid."

Ares surreptitiously flinched, his orbs glaring at the screen, unwavering.

"Technically speaking, the girl is of relation to you. You _are_ her uncle," Persephone softly pointed out, her expression fond.

The trickster's eyes lit up and he grinned at the Queen of the Underworld.

Only Aphrodite seemed concerned with Ares' disturbing lack of reaction, his posture resembling a stone sculpture.

 **Rolling her eyes, Liv rubbed her side as Dean spoke up, trying to distract Max from his cousin as he had been staring at her intently, "Strange lights, weird noises, maybe. Voices."**

 **Finally tearing his intense gaze from a still scowling Liv, Max shook his head, "No, nothing."**

 **Dean let out a long-suffering sigh, "Mr. Joffey –"**

" _Jaffey_!" Annabeth instantly corrected Dean.

" _ **Jaffey**_ **," Max and Liv sharply corrected, their gaze connecting before Liv ripped her gaze from his.**

Ares' narrowed his eyes, a foreign sensation, one he hadn't felt in decades, maybe even centuries, surging in his belly.

"Is this an innocent crush I sense?" Aphrodite tittered, hungrily gazing at the scene.

' _Of course. Of course Affie would be the first to interpret the punk's reaction to the runt's presence,_ ' Ares inwardly growled.

"I think he's just suspicious of her," Rachel provided, a contemplative frown on her face. "I mean, out of the three hunters, Liv's the only one acting unprofessional."

Poseidon cocked his head to the side, "Perhaps she finds herself uncomfortable around such an institution."

"A true shame," Dionysus muttered, having taken great offense.

" **Jaffey," Dean emphasized, his green orbs darkening when Max continued to stare at Liv. "You checked yourself in here, right?"**

 **Max nodded, prompting Liv to splutter in shock, "Why would you do that?!"**

"Yes, _why would he do that_?" Grover exclaimed.

Dionysus glowered at the satyr's direction, prompting Grover to flinch and cower, hiding behind Percy.

"Probably for safety reasons," Athena deduced. "Perchance he feels his own mind is betraying him…"

Hestia inclined her head, "Possibly."

 **Max smiled at her reaction, amused, but in an instant, he looked solemn. "I was a little stressed. I survived a plane crash."**

"If I survived a plane crash, I'd be out celebrating," Connor pointed out, the 'duh' heard loud and clear in his tone.

Katie, Rachel and Piper nodded, "Ditto."

" **Uh huh," Dean appeared skeptical. "And that's what terrified you? That's what you were afraid of?"**

 **Shifting uncomfortably, Max looked away, avoiding the Winchesters' stares. "I…I don't want to talk about this anymore."**

" **See, I think maybe you** _ **did**_ **see something up there. We need to know what," Dean continued, his tone serious and persuading.**

" **No," Max firmly countered. "No, I was…delusional. Seeing things."**

 **Liv decided to speak up, "Well, look at the bright side. You're already in a mental institute. Might as well throw caution to the wind and give in to your delusions, aye?"**

"Priceless," Percy chuckled.

"She sure knows how to provide a motivating speech," Jason laughed, eyes sparkling with mirth.

Apollo smirked and threw Ares a mischievous look, "You sure she's your daughter? I mean, she definitely didn't inherit her sense of humor from you."

The God of War growled warningly, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists.

"Apollo, stop teasing," Aphrodite chastised him.

It was Hermes turn to smirk mischievously as he inclined his head in Aphrodite's direction, "Yeah, Apollo. Ares doesn't _have_ a sense of humor."

"HERMES!" Ares roared.

Zeus sighed into the palm of his hands, his sons' constant bickering truly wearing him out, "Enough you three. You are acting like children!"

"Sorry," Apollo and Hermes intoned, not sounding apologetic.

" _ **Olivia**_ **!" Sam hissed.**

 **Liv glared at him, "It's** _ **Liv**_ **!"**

"I don't see why she finds the need to shorten her name. Olivia is a lovely name," Aphrodite sighed. She then narrowed her eyes on Ares, "Don't you think so, Ares?"

Ares grunted. "Sure," he pacified her, his tone indifferent.

The love goddess sighed in resignation and shared a commiserating look with Apollo.

 **Sam ignored her. He turned to Max who was looking at them in confusion, "What my colleague is trying to say, Mr. Jaffey, is to tell us what you** _ **thought**_ **you saw. Please."**

 **Max's countenance shifted from indignant to defeat. "There was…this –** _ **man**_ **. And, uh, he had these…** _ **eyes**_ **– these, uh…** _ **black eyes**_ **. And I saw him – or I** _ **thought**_ **I saw him…" he paused and licked his lips, uncertainty clouding his features.**

" **What?" Liv urged, all distaste and boredom gone, replaced by professional curiosity.**

" **He** _ **opened**_ **the emergency exit," he admitted. "But that's… that's** _ **impossible**_ **, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door."**

Athena nodded in recognition. "Yes, we mentioned this before. The strength required to open that door is uncanny."

"Even someone on steroids wouldn't be able to do that," Jason mused.

" **This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly?" Sam hesitantly inquired. "It would look something like a mirage?"**

 **Max stared at him, bewildered, "What are you, nuts?" But when Sam merely tilted his head, Max revealed, "He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me."**

"A _possessed_ passenger," Ariadne corrected.

Hecate nodded, "The question is, what sort of entity was it?"

"At least we crossed out eidolon," Leo muttered to his fellow Seven, all six of whom nodded grimly.

 **The scene changed, showing the Impala pulling up in front of a house.**

" **So here we are. George Phelps, seat 20C," Sam announced.**

 **Dean shook his head. "Hmm. Man, I don't care how strong you are," the three Winchesters clambered out of the car. "Even yoked up on PCP or something, no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight," he continued.**

"PCP?" Nico and Hazel inquired, their heads tilted in confusion at the unfamiliar acronym.

Apollo kept his mouth shut, waiting to see if anyone, preferably his son, comprehended the gist of the drug. In a way, he felt like a true father, for the first time given the ability to parent his child, and he wasn't disappointed.

"PCP, short for Phencyclidine, also known as 'angel dust'," Will gently explained, smiling softly at the children of Hades/Pluto. "It's a recreational drug. Effects are euphoria, loss of ego boundaries, aggressive behavior and also, it can induce feelings of strength and power. I can see why Dean first thought of PCP as an explanation."

" _Wow_!" Nico was getting used to the twenty-first century, him more than Hazel as he was out longer, but even so, he still found himself discovering new things every day, growing even more amazed at the evolution of the human race.

Apollo beamed at his son.

"You wouldn't have heard of it as it was brought to market in the 1950s," Annabeth gently imparted.

"Then it was subsequently taken _off_ the market in 1965," Apollo added in a chirpy tone. "PCP's got a long history of abuse as mortals started using it for recreational purposes and it was listed as America's number one problem in 1978-"

Hera had had _enough_!

"Yes, yes. If you are interested in pesky mortal drugs then go research it in your own time," she sneered.

Hades glowered at his cantankerous sister for daring to address his children so callously.

Apollo rolled his eyes at his stepmother. He winked at Nico and Hazel, "If you're still interested, I'll explain when we stop for dinner."

" **Not if you're human," Sam stated. "But maybe this guy George was something else. Some kind of creature, maybe, in human form."**

"Like Mr. Thorn," Nico gasped in realization.

Hades frowned at his son, "Mr. Thorn?"

"I can't believe you're still calling him that, Death Breath," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Annabeth stiffened at the memory and Percy held her tighter to his side, pressing a chaste kiss on the crown of her head.

Chris grimaced and sent the daughter of Athena a look filled with sorrow, silently apologizing for his part in the whole Luke/Atlas fiasco.

Athena glowered at them while Poseidon smiled fondly at the sight.

"Who's Mr. Thorn?" the Stolls, Katie, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Will and Rachel asked, simultaneously.

Nico shrugged, "Force of habit. I first knew him as Mr. Thorn."

"Would you mind sharing with the class who this, Mr. Thorn, happens to be?" Dionysus asked, wryly.

Percy grimaced, "The Manticore."

The gods blanched at the thought of any of their children being in close proximity of such a monster.

Frantically, Hades whipped around to confront his son, dark orbs piercing him intently, "And why in Tartarus would you know him as ' _Mr. Thorn_ ', Nico?!"

He nervously wringed his wrist and played with the collar of his shirt. "Well… uh when we-" a pained expression took over Nico's visage. Thalia interlaced her fingers with his, snapping him out of his morbid reverie. "When _I_ got out of the Lotus Casino-" purposely leaving out Bianca's inclusion which Hades noticed if his narrowed eyes had anything to say about it, but he decided to tackle the subject later on, in privacy, "-you had us- _me_ placed in a military school in Maine and, well… the Manticore disguised himself as the Vice Principle to get to us- _me_. Nearly succeeded too," he mumbled the last part to himself, which of course, with the gods amplified hearing, they all heard him loud and clear.

Hades looked to be suffering from a conniption fit, prompting Persephone to clutch his hand in a comforting grip. "Explain," he boomed.

"The Manticore tried kidnapping me," Nico simply offered, purposely sounding vague.

"But luckily, Grover was sent to scout out for half-bloods at the time, and he called and enlisted me, Annabeth and Thalia for help. We uh, got them, uh _him_ , uh, I mean everyone out safely," Percy summarized, wincing at his slip up.

"Almost everyone," Thalia muttered, staring sadly at Annabeth.

It was Athena's turn to nearly suffer from a conniption fit. "Annabeth?" she inquired.

"Spoilers?" Percy croaked weakly; he still hated himself for his failure to protect Annabeth. The sight of her falling down the cliff and then suffering under the weight of Atlas' curse still gave him nightmares.

Before any of the gods could argue and demand for answers, Zeus' voice rumbled, "Impossible!"

"Brother-" Poseidon attempted to speak up.

" _No_!" Zeus harshly interjected, eying the four demigods and the satyr with heavy skepticism. "We banished the Manticore to Persia long ago! It's _impossible_!"

Thalia sighed, looking worn out. "You can't keep denying whenever you hear something you don't like, Father. Monsters don't remain banished for long as you well know."

"Your interaction with the Manticore sounds like quite the tail," Hecate spoke up, her expression shrewd.

Hades growled. "Forget that! _Why_ did the Manticore try to kidnap you, Nico!?"

" _Hah_!" Demeter viciously retorted. "Doesn't feel good, does it? Knowing your beloved child was nearly kidnapped! Try being me! My precious Kore _was_ kidnapped by the likes of you!"

Persephone groaned, " _Mother_!"

"I believe, Sister Dearest, that you lost our previous wager," Poseidon grinned, eyes dancing with mirth.

Demeter looked torn for a brief moment before she shrugged. "It was worth it," she hissed, staring daggers at Hades.

Seeing that Hades and Athena were worrying over their respective child's interaction with the Manticore, Hestia decided to speak up, "Hades, Athena, your children are safe and whole. Do not fret over such matters for now. When they are ready to reveal events that took place in the future, they will. For now, take solace in their presence."

Grudgingly, the aforementioned two nodded, though their eyes loudly screamed that they would be discussing this later, prompting Nico and Annabeth to gulp nervously and look away.

 **Dean seemed to disagree as he pointed to the ordinary house, "Does that look like a creature's lair to you?"**

 **Liv scoffed. "You're judging a book by its cover, Dean. Remember that guy, around two years ago," she snapped her fingers in an effort to remember, "Edward Trenton? Family man; living the Stepford life in a cookie-cutter house, and he turned out to be a monster in the end. Granted, some freaky monster we've never heard of before, but a monster nonetheless."**

 **Dean scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "Oh… right."**

" **Who?" Sam frowned, confused, only to be ignored.**

"Two years ago. Sam was in university when it happened," Leo mumbled.

Rolling her eyes fondly, Piper quipped, "Stellar observation, Captain Obvious."

"I prefer McShizzle, thank you _very much_ ," Leo retorted, teasingly.

Hephaestus smiled at the fond interaction as he continued tinkering.

 **The scene changed.**

 **The Winchesters were inside the house, in what looked to be the living room, sitting across a woman on a three-seater. Sam pointed at a picture frame, "This is your late husband?"**

 **Sniffing, Mrs. Phelps nodded, "Yes, that was my George."**

"They're not questioning another survivor," Apollo remarked, realization dawning on him.

Artemis shook her head, "No. Tis the possessed man's wife."

" **And you said he was a… dentist?" Dean sounded disbelieving.**

"Dentists _are_ monsters," Connor shrugged.

His comment was responded with a wallop to the head, courtesy of Katie.

"Damn _woman_ ," he whined, rubbing the back of his head. "At this rate, if you girls keep it up, I'll be suffering from a concussion."

Unamused, Katie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend's brother, "I'm trying to smack some sense into you, Connor, but it appears that you're a lost cause."

Clarisse, Rachel, Annabeth and Piper burst into laughter and even Chris and Travis had a hard time suppressing their amusement.

"Besides, if the worst were to happen and you need healing, Apollo and Will are here," Rachel cheekily added.

Connor still looked displeased.

Apollo chuckled. "Even so girls, I don't think Hermes would appreciate it if you end up severely hurting his son. Maybe next time, slap him lighter. Or aim lower."

The youngest son of Hermes bashfully looked down, feeling sufficiently lighter at Apollo's words. Looking up a moment later, he noted Hermes had a tender smile on his face and a few of his doubts on whether his father loved him, started chipping away.

Percy then stage whispered, "Con did make a decent point though… dentists _are_ monsters."

"I know, _right_ ," Leo mumbled back.

Connor pouted.

A second later, Annabeth and Piper smacked them across the head.

" _Ouch_!" they whined in sync.

Connor grinned, mollified.

" **Mm-hm. He was headed to a convention in Denver," Mrs. Phelps tore her sad gaze from the picture frame to look at the three hunters in turn. "Do you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that…" she trailed off and let out a choked sob.**

The observers nodded as they recalled his behavior at the beginning of the episode.

 **Liv straightened her posture and softly asked, "How long were you married?"**

" **Thirteen years," was the forlorn response.**

"A dedicated couple," Hera proudly stated, unable to help but flash Zeus a look of contempt that had him shifting uncomfortably.

" **In all that time, did you ever notice anything…** _ **strange**_ **about him, anything out of the ordinary?" Sam questioned next.**

 **Mrs. Phelps' brows furrowed in thought, "Well…uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean."**

Despite the solemn situation, Leo, Jason and Percy couldn't help but snort in response.

"That's not what they meant," Hermes stated, his expression lighter.

 **Dean, Sam and Liv looked at each other, unsatisfied before the screen went black.**

"They are no closer to discovering the entity's identity," Artemis huffed, irritated at the lack of information.

 **The Winchesters were descending the staircase, departing the Phelps home.**

" **I mean it goes without saying. It just doesn't make sense," a frustrated Sam spoke up.**

" **A middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified," Dean agreed, his expression mirroring Sam's.**

 **Liv dragged a hand through her hair as they stopped by the Impala, "I say it's time we do things my way. We should have just went with my plan and skipped to the last page. I still say we break into that NTSB warehouse to check out the wreckage. We're wasting time here."**

"Why am I not surprised. Of course Olivia wanted to start off big," Poseidon chuckled lightly.

Aphrodite sported an expression of fond adoration, "Just like her father."

" _Aphrodite_ …" Ares trailed off warningly, not wanting to initiate a dispute with his lover.

"I am simply stating the facts, Ares. Deny all you want, but you surely are not blind!" she harrumphed, stubbornly meeting his gaze, just like he stubbornly looked away.

Hestia sighed sadly, "Shall we proceed?"

Like Apollo, Hestia was beginning to connect the puzzle pieces together, comprehending the reason behind her nephew's strong dislike toward his demigod daughter. Her sympathy went out to Ares, and she empathized with him, but that did not mean in any certain way that he had the right to treat his daughter, an innocent child that did no wrong, like a disease and a stain on his flesh.

 **Defeated, Sam nodded, a grimace on his face. "Okay, you're right, Liv. But if we're gonna go that route, we'd better look the part."**

In unison, the demigods and Grover turned to gauge Rachel's expression, but her expression remained blank and she adamantly kept her emerald gaze on the screen, lips pressed into a thin line.

Dionysus muttered a barely audible, " _Hallelujah_."

 **The scene shifted; the camera homed in on the outside of a rental shop just as the Winchesters were walking out. Dean and Sam both wore crisp black suits with a white shirt underneath and polished black leather shoes, while Liv was decked out in a charcoal gray knee-length skirt suit, with a silk black shirt underneath and matching heels.**

"Very stylish," Aphrodite complimented, her eyes glittering at Olivia's ensemble.

Piper smirked, "Sexy and smart, a killer combo."

Proud, Aphrodite winked at her daughter.

Persephone nodded, "She does have fantastic taste. I must admit, I had my doubts in regards to her sense of style."

"I, as well," Ariadne confessed.

Apollo scoffed, a brow arched in the direction of the three goddesses, "Why, because she was raised around men?"

"Yes," they deadpanned, staring at Apollo as though he were purposely acting foolish.

It was Hermes turn to scoff, "And you accuse us of being sexists. I'll have you know. I'll have you know, that I have _great_ taste in clothes."

"You've _also_ been around for many millennia," Amphitrite pointed out in amusement.

"And you're a god, Hermes," Aphrodite huffed a laugh.

Amusement was the main expression on Poseidon's visage, "What, pray tell, has that got to do with anything?"

"Olivia was raised around hunters, practically skipping from motel to motel, always on the road and lacking a female's touch," Ariadne listed off in an obvious tone.

Gritting his teeth, Ares snapped, "Can we get on with the damn _episode_ already!" The _last_ thing he wanted to hear about, was the runt's fashion sense, _thank you very much_!

"Finally," Athena grumbled, actually thankful to Ares for speaking up.

" **Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers," Dean grumbled, adjusting his collar, prompting Liv to smack his hand away and smooth out the crinkles he created.**

 **Sam smirked, "No, you don't. You look more like a…seventh-grader at his first dance."**

Cue amused laughter.

 **Dean looked down at himself. "I hate this thing," he muttered in disdain.**

" **Well, thank God I had the forethought to shave my legs last night," Liv piped up, admiring her tanned and toned legs.**

Ares groaned into his palm.

The love goddess smirked, looking entirely too smug at the moment.

 **Dean and Sam blanched.**

" **I don't want to hear that, Liv," Dean groaned.**

 **Sam however, did a double take as though he were seeing her for the first time, his eyes widening as he scanned Liv's outfit. "Since when do you wear heels?" he spluttered.**

 **Liv rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her jacket, straightening the lapels. "I know it's hard for you to comprehend this, Sammy, but when you left for Stanford four years ago, I didn't stop aging. I'm not that twelve-year-old kid anymore, I'm** _ **sixteen**_ **, I've been doing teenager stuff-"**

" **AAA! La-La-La-Laa! I don't wanna hear," Dean yelled, clamping his hands over his ears and shaking his head, eyes snapped shut.**

" _Boys_!" Annabeth, Piper, Katie, Clarisse and Rachel huffed, almost fondly.

Percy stared in confusion at the five girls, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Nobody bothered to offer him a response as they were all distracted by the son of Hephaestus' shameless slobbering.

"Chica's in possession of _the_ definition of sexy legs," Leo salivated. "You know the ones I'm talking about? The ones that look so nice and long and everlasting, especially in those heels," he went all dreamy-eyed.

Piper interrupted his ogling by tossing a napkin at his face. "Wipe your drool, _McShizzle_ ," she smirked.

Ares' fists were clenched so tightly, ichor started too ooze out from the crescent-shaped marks he inflicted, only to heal a split-second later once Aphrodite forcibly unclenched his fists. Thankfully, his lover decided to skip on the commentary.

Artemis shared Ares' rage. "She is no piece of meat held on display, son of Hephaestus. Have some respect!"

For the first time in… _ever_ , Ares found himself grateful for his sister and her prudish ways.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with admiring a pretty woman, Artie. It's not like women are above ogling men," Apollo pointed out.

Artemis venomously spat out, "Do _not_ call me _Artie_!"

"And women do not ogle men like they are a piece of meat!" she added as an afterthought.

"Actually…" a sheepish Katie hedged, prompting Artemis to whirl around and gape at her in disbelief while Aphrodite, Persephone and Ariadne donned smug expressions.

"You _cannot_ be serious, young daughter of Demeter," Artemis gaped unattractively.

Katie looked at the other girls in silent plea.

"Girls are just as guilty as boys when it comes to intentionally checking out the attributes of the other sex," Annabeth shrugged, unbothered at the prospect of shattering the virgin goddess' ideals when it came to the female gender.

Offended, Artemis gasped, "Well, _I never._ "

"I don't mind women checking me out," Hermes blurted out, puffing his chest out.

A winsome smile graced Poseidon's visage, "I concur with Hermes."

"And we're glad to check you both out," Rachel dreamily exclaimed.

A sudden silence struck the throne room.

Gasping loudly, a furiously blushing Rachel clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes threatening to pop out of their socket, shocked at her own audacity. "Oh _fuck_! I-I didn't mean it-, I-I mean, uh, you gods are goddamn sexy, but no, no, wait, _ugh_ -that came out wrong! I didn't mean to blurt it out. It was so disrespectful of me, not that I am _lying_ or anything… and someone _please_ shut me up before I shove my entire foot in my mouth!"

Ares smirked at her, his irate mood mellowing out.

Poseidon's hearty laughter echoed in the room, reverberating against the walls , the sound succeeding to quell her nerves, and he was quickly followed by every other occupant in the room, all but Hera.

Flustered, Rachel continued, "I'm so sorry! Please don't smite me."

"Oh my dear Oracle, we have no intention of punishing you. At ease," Poseidon crooned softly, calming her down.

Hermes snickered, "I wouldn't be so sure of that." He tilted his head in Hera's direction, who was currently fuming, her poisonous glare never wavering from the redhead's form.

"Hera!" Zeus warned.

"Oh, of course you would excuse such impudence. Why ever would I be surprised!" she snarled.

Thalia rolled her eyes and defended her artsy friend. "It was an innocent comment. Don't blame Rachel 'cause you're bitter."

Hera went to stand, "I beg your pardo-"

" _Enough_!" Hestia softly ordered, eliciting utmost silence. "Hera, just… just _enough_."

 **Dean then opened his eyes and mimicked Sam's former reaction. "You know what? Maybe we should go back and get you some pants-"**

" **I am so not listening to this," Liv snappishly interjected, storming over to the car. "Heading in the car right now, 'cause, you know, we've got a warehouse to break into, a case to solve, people to save."**

 **Glumly, Dean and Sam hopped in and the Impala drove off.**

"She should put on some pants," Ares grumbled to himself.

 **The location changed; the Winchesters walked into the warehouse and flashed their badges to the security guard, who, after appreciatively raking Liv's form, eyes lingering on her bare legs, that provoked two overprotective glares from Dean and Sam, let them in.**

Aphrodite repressed a satisfied smile at the telltale sound of Ares gritting his teeth in annoyance.

Artemis on the other hand, didn't bother masking her fury at the chauvinistic behavior. "He'd make a good jackalope," she muttered abrasively.

" **That's why I wanted you to wear pants," Dean grumbled.**

" **Shut up!" Liv hissed, keeping her chin up and expression blank. Once they halted in their tracks, in perfect unison, Dean and Liv both pulled out a device and put earbuds in their ears.**

 **Confused, Sam stared at the identical devices in their possession, "What are those?"**

"Are they-, are those _walkmans_?" Will asked, perplexed.

"Looks like it. But I don't think they're _actual_ walkmans," Rachel offered, sharing his confusion.

 **Dean looked up, "EMF meters. Reads electromagnetic frequencies."**

" **Yeah, I** _ **know**_ **what an EMF meter** _ **is**_ **," Sam huffed, rolling his eyes. "But why do those two look like busted-up walkmans?"**

"Thought I was losing it for a moment," Will sighed in relief.

 **Liv chuckled at Sam's confusion.**

"' **Cause that's what I made it out of. It's homemade," Dean explained.**

" **And taught me how to make one, too," Liv proudly stated, showing Sam her EMF meter.**

Hecate smiled fondly, "Their relationship is very endearing. So refreshing."

"It's evident from their interactions that Olivia was mostly raised by Dean," Amphitrite smiled, though it held a sad tinge to it as her eyes flickered towards Ares' indifferent countenance.

"That's so awesome, though. I'd love to learn how to make my own EMF meter, especially now that I know ghosts actually exist without the need of a summoner," Rachel commented in awe.

 **Sam grinned at Liv's enthusiasm and watched as his brother and cousin started to run their respective EMF meters over random pieces of wreckage. Dean suddenly stopped after scanning a piece coated in yellow dust, as an audible spike emanated from the meter in his hand. Liv paused and ran over to Dean's side.**

" **Check out the emergency door handle," Dean murmured, scratching at the yellow dust and getting some on his hand.**

"What is that?" Hazel grimaced, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

Frank stroked her back in a soothing motion in case she got squeamish again.

" **What is this stuff?" Liv frowned.**

"That's what we'd like to know," Percy mumbled.

 **Sam held an expected hand out to Liv, who rooted through her purse for a Ziploc bag and handed it over. "One way to find out," he murmured, scraping some of the yellow dust off and into the bag.**

 **The scene suddenly shifted, portraying two agents in black suits approaching the security desk and showing off their badges.**

"Oh _Styx_!" Percy, Jason, Leo, the Stolls, Chris, Clarisse and Nico yelped.

Frank gulped, "They're doomed."

Rachel shook her head but obediently stayed silent.

"What is it you teenagers say these days… is it _busted_?" Dionysus grinned, once again banishing his magazine in favor of watching the fireworks occur.

" **Homeland Security?" the security guard lifted both brows at them. "What, one team of you guys isn't enough?"**

"Oh yes, definitely busted," Dionysus drawled out, a smug smile pulling at his lips.

Ariadne rolled her eyes fondly and lightly swatted him on the chest, "Oh, Dionysus. _Behave_."

 **One of the agents frowned, "What are you talking about?"**

" **Three of your buddies went inside not five minutes ago, and lemme tell you, I don't know how you can work alongside the smoking hot babe without getting distracted," the security guard winked lewdly.**

"A jackalope is too good for this _swine_!" Artemis shrieked, enraged at the disgrace of mortal flesh's audacity.

A positively frightening growl rumbled from Ares' chest as he glowered at the bastard.

"Ares-"

"I'm fine!" he snapped, batting off Aphrodite's concern and trying to recover his mask of nonchalance.

Apollo shook his head in disapproval, his sapphire orbs blazing with fury, "Checking her out is one thing, but demeaning her due to her looks is another."

 **Arching a brow, the second agent looked at his partner.**

 **Alternating to the interior of the warehouse, the two agents burst in, along with several security guards, all of them with their guns drawn as they started searching for the Winchesters.**

"That's kind of an overreaction, isn't it?" Percy gulped.

Rachel sighed and shook her head, "Impersonating officials _is_ a felony for a reason, Percy. The Winchesters do it out of necessity, to save lives, but others do it to carry out unlawful and immoral acts."

 **The Winchesters shared wide-eyed looks and as the screen shifted to show the two agents and the guards approaching their hideout, they vanished.**

"Oh, thank the heavens," Aphrodite sighed in relief, loosening her grip from Ares'.

 **Outside the warehouse, Dean, Sam and Liv could be seen peering around a corner and, after straightening up, they walked out, attempting to look casual. An alarm blared overhead, prompting them to run to the gated exit. Dean pulled off his jacket and threw it over the barbed wire at the top of the fence, and they climbed over. Before disappearing from sight, Dean grabbed his jacket.**

" **Well, these monkey suits do come in handy," Dean chuckled in an effort to alleviate the tension as the Winchesters run off before the screen turned black.**

"Punk's good at thinking on his feet," Ares grunted in appreciation. "That there is an admirable ability to have: _improvising_. Helps keep his ass alive."

Hades hummed, "At least they managed to take off with evidence, therefore it was not a complete waste of their time."

 **Back in the airport, the pilot, Chuck, nervously sat in a chair as his copilot gave him a pep talk.**

"My bad feeling has made a sudden comeback," Rachel murmured. She suddenly snapped her head around to face Leo, who's mouth was parted, "And _no_ , Leo, it's _not_ an Oracle thing."

Nodding, Leo sheepishly snapped his mouth shut.

Jason and Piper chuckled fondly at their best friend.

" **Listen, Chuck. It's like getting back on a horse. Only in this case, a little twin engine. Not even a horse, more like a pony.**

"He calls _that_ a pep talk?" Apollo gaped in shock. "He's terrible at it!"

Artemis scoffed, "Like you're any better, brother."

 **I'll be right there with you too. Anytime you feel like you don't want the wheel, I'll take over. Look, Chuck, we don't have to do this today. I'm not trying to rush you," the copilot concluded.**

"He should've started off with that, and ixnay all the pony talk," Hermes muttered in amusement.

Ariadne smiled however, "I think it's admirable that Chuck is trying to get back to normalcy."

"Yeah, but if I were him, I'd quit my job," Percy shuddered, garnering a vehement nod of agreement from Thalia who looked too pale for Zeus's liking.

 **Chuck adamantly shook his head, "No, the…the waiting is worse."**

"Eh, dude's got a point," Apollo agreed.

Hera grimaced in distaste; she utterly abhorred the slang her stepsons picked up from the twenty-first century.

 **The copilot looked over his shoulder, "Okay, they're filling up the tank. Then we go." and he left.**

 **Chuck sighed and took a long sip of coffee. Behind him, a long cloud of dark black smoke exited from the vent and collided into Chuck, seeping into his eyes.**

 **The scene turned black.**

"NO!"

"Not again!"

" _Di immortales_!"

"Fuck!" Thalia gasped.

"Language!" Hera shrieked.

Thalia glowered at her. "Bite me," she murmured.

"Wow, my instincts are spot on," Rachel spoke in a hush, blinking rapidly at the screen.

Leo shrugged, "Kind of freaky and cool at the same time if you ask me."

"I didn't," the redhead murmured offhandedly.

A sheen of sweat appeared on Percy's face as his nausea returned tenfold. "The plane's gonna crash again, isn't it?" he rhetorically inquired.

Poseidon stared at his son with sad eyes.

 **The Winchesters were back in Jerry's office; Liv had made herself comfortable perched on his desk, while Sam and Dean stood over the desk with their arms crossed, all three of them staring intently at Jerry as he examined the yellow dust through a microscope.**

Heads were cocked as the microscope's view was replicated on the screen, confusion the main emotion on nearly every occupant's visage.

"Too bad there aren't any scientists in the room," Leo grumbled, rubbing his eyes fiercely.

" **Huh. This stuff is covered in sulfur," Jerry remarked to the room at large.**

 **Liv and Dean visibly stiffened. Sam shook his head and leaned forward, "You're sure?"**

" **Take a look yourself," Jerry said as he stepped back.**

"Sulfur? I don't get it. What's so bad about sulfur?" Jason inquired, brows furrowed in confusion.

Annabeth gasped, eyes alight with recognition, "Of course! It's widely known that sulfur is distinguished by its pale greenish-yellow color."

"Now we're discussing chemistry?" Connor groaned, his disposition mirrored by nearly every demigod.

The daughter of Athena shrugged, "Malcolm's a whizz at chemistry and taught me everything I need to know."

"Sulfur must be an indication to some monster they came across before," Ares grunted, surprising everyone but Aphrodite, not just over the fact that he willingly participated, but that he actually said something smart, prompting him to inwardly roll his eyes at their gullibility.

Aphrodite simply nodded and, after pressing a sensual kiss on Ares's cheek, said, "So this entity that takes the shape of a dark cloud of smoke, the Winchesters must have an inkling as to what it is just by the presence of sulfur."

Unable to withhold her comment, Athena gaped at the couple, "Since when are you two… _smart_?"

" _Athena_!" Zeus, Poseidon and Hestia snapped, each of them sporting a warning glare.

 **Suddenly, banging sounds erupted from outside the office and a man could be heard yelling, "You effin' piece of crap!"**

 **Sighing, Jerry strode toward the door, "If you three will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire."**

Travis, Connor, Apollo and Hermes snorted.

 **Dean and Liv rushed over, each taking turns to look into the microscope as Jerry yelled in the background from outside. "Hmm. You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulfuric residue," Dean pondered aloud.**

" **Don't say it," Liv muttered, almost pleadingly, as she stepped away from the microscope.**

 **Sam sighed and grimaced at his cousin, "Demonic possession?"**

" **You had to say it," Liv hissed to herself, massaging her temples.**

Spluttering, Nico lost all composure, " _Demonic_?"

"Figure of speech," Hades, quick as a whip, retorted, unwilling to have his world flip on an axis once more.

Not wishing to deal with his brother's state of denial, Zeus eyed Hecate, "Hecate?"

Hecate swallowed and weakly concurred with Hades. "Demonic could be lingo for monster possession. There is _no_ such thing as _demons_ ," she laughed, almost hysterically.

"That's what you said about ghosts without a summoner," Katie politely pointed out.

Travis nodded, looping an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "And you didn't even believe wendigos existed, and yet they do," he pointed out.

Weakly, Rachel said, "It's not so farfetched that demons also exist-"

"Ms. Dare, while I am at a loss regarding our ghost dilemma, I assure you, demons _do NOT_ exist. It is impossible," Hades strongly refuted.

Leo blinked and cocked his head, "But why? What makes you so sure?"

"Other than the fact that I have lived many millennia," Hades dryly stated, brushing imaginary lint from the cuffs of his sleeves. "I _am_ the King of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead, and I promise you, no demons reside in my domain because there is _no such thing_ as demons," he hissed once more.

"Oh," Leo mumbled.

Hades snorted, "Yes, ' _oh_ '."

"Children," Persephone softly addressed the demigods in the room. "Demons are corrupted souls said to dwell in Hell. Hell is the human representation of the Underworld when they are sentenced to the Fields of Punishment," she gently explained.

"Exactly. Which is why Hades, Persephone, and I are certain demons are simply a myth. Because if demons _do_ in fact, exist, then where are they? Because they are definitely _not_ residing in the Underworld."

While the demigods and Grover all nodded, taking their word for it, Rachel frowned, doubtful of their confidence regarding the matter, despite the fact that there is no proof otherwise.

" **It** _ **would**_ **explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch," Dean added.**

 **Sam shrugged, "If the guy was possessed, it's possible."**

" **This goes way beyond floating over a bed or barfing pea soup. I mean it's one thing to possess a person, but to use them to take down an entire airplane?" Dean ranted in disbelief.**

 **Liv snorted, lifting a skeptical eyebrow at them, "Since when are demons benevolent?"**

"There's no such thing as _demons_!" Hades hissed, an impressive sneer materializing on his aristocratic face.

Everyone smartly kept their mouths shut.

 **Dean let out a hysterical laugh, "Never."**

 **The screen shifted to the airport tarmac. The copilot stood waiting by a small plane when a cheerful Chuck who looked relaxed, approached. "I'm ready. Let's do this," he grinned.**

 **The copilot blinked, confused, before he laughed and followed Chuck to the plane.**

"Is that still Chuck?" Piper hesitantly inquired. "If he's being possessed… I mean, when possessed by an eidolon, the person its possessing, while unable to do anything about it, are still able to observe everything it does in their body… is it the same for Chuck?"

The throne room was engulfed in silence as everyone pondered the appropriate inquiry made by the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Quite an accurate description of eidolon-possession, Popeye," Dionysus drawled out.

Piper simply stared, astounded. "Popeye. _Really_? Now I _know_ you do that on purpose."

Ariadne stifled her laughter as she leaned into her husband's side.

"No, but really, you weren't possessed by one, were you, darling?" Aphrodite inquired, expression frantic.

"No, no. It wasn't me. It was, uh," Piper glanced unsurely at the three boys. In sync, Percy, Jason, and Leo raised their hands. "It was them," she concluded.

"WHAT?" Poseidon and Zeus yelled, while Hephaestus entire beard engulfed in flames, orbs focused intently on his son.

"We're fine," Jason tried assuring them, to no avail.

Hephaestus surprised everyone when he addressed his son, as he rarely ever spoke. "I want a full disclosure later, you hear me?" he said, voice hoarse and gravelly with disuse.

Gulping, Leo rapidly bobbed his head.

"To answer your initial inquiry, Piper: Yes; I do believe Chuck is aware," Hecate forlornly divulged.

 **In the cockpit, the copilot turned to Chuck, "How you feeling?"**

" **I feel great!" Chuck exclaimed.**

" **You'll be back flying jumbos before you know it."**

 **Chuck grinned, "I hope so. How long we been up?"**

"Is it just me, or is this a total déjà vu moment?" Rachel squeaked, pressing her palms to her mouth and seeking comfort by scooching closer to Connor's side till she almost landed on his lap.

Hazel feebly said, "It's not just you."

 **The copilot checked the time, "Uh…almost forty minutes."**

" **Wow. Time really does fly."**

Apollo frowned in contemplation. "That's the code. Something about forty minutes is related to all this."

"Yes! Exactly, brother," Artemis gushed, excited at the prospect of solving the puzzling anomaly. "In the first flight, this… _entity_ inquired after the time and once the passenger revealed it to be forty minutes past, he caused the plane to crash."

"So more unfortunate fatalities," Persephone sadly concluded, eyes welling with unshed tears.

 **Chuck suddenly had the plane diving towards the ground. The copilot bewilderly turned to confront him, "What are you doing?!" But Chuck elbowed him in the face as his entire eye turned pure black.**

 **The scene alternated to show a truck trundling by as the plane appeared abruptly, crashing into a telephone pole and then the ground.**

 **The screen turned black.**

A solemn silence ensued as they all grieved the passengers' demise.

"Can these incidents be altered?" Amphitrite inquired.

Zeus sighed dismally, "If the Fates allow it."

"The Winchesters will stop this, I'm sure of it," Thalia announced, confident in their abilities.

"Yes, but two planes have already crashed," Triton gently uttered.

 **The scene shifted to the interior of a motel room; a plethora of articles and images were taped to the walls and strewn across both beds. Sam sat on a chair by the table, staring intently at the computer screen while Dean read an article on the bed. Liv was lying on the carpeted floor on her stomach with her legs dangling in the air, two empty cans of Red Bull were littered on the ground while a third was firmly held in her hand, and there were five articles spread around her.**

"Kudos if she can actually read them without needing to take a Tylenol," Leo piped up, rubbing the middle of his forehead.

"Just because we're dyslexic, doesn't mean we can't read _at all_ ," Annabeth chastised him.

 **Sam suddenly spoke up, "So, every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it."**

The ambience in the room turned chilly, reflected by Hades' mood.

" _Concept_ _of_. It's not a fact, it's a theory. A _ludicrous_ one," he hissed, teeth bared.

" **Yeah, but none of them describe anything like this," Dean commented from the bed. Liv hummed in agreement as she took a hearty sip of her energy drink.**

"Red Bull," the Stolls echoed in a wistful tone.

Katie smirked at them, "At least she knows how to handle her Red Bull. She's on her third and she isn't itching to demolish the motel room."

Travis and Connor scowled at her. "Shut up," they murmured.

 **Sam disagreed. "Well, that's not exactly true. You see according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease."**

In comical unison, every single demigod turned to stare between Poseidon and Hades with questioning glances.

Chuckling, his eyes brimming with mirth, Poseidon smiled benignly at them, "While I am dubbed 'Earthshaker' and while my brother and I have the ability to generate earthquakes, we are not the cause of them all. Some are simply generated by nature itself, a result from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere, thus creating seismic waves."

"My, what big words Poseidon," Athena acidly spat out, and to her frustration, he didn't rise to the bait, but simply threw her an amused look.

"I am _much_ older than you, my _dear_ Athena," was all the Sea God offered.

 **Lifting herself up from the ground, Liv walked over to Sam, Red Bull still in hand, "And this one causes plane crashes?** _ **Seriously**_ **."**

 **Dean got up as well and joined them by the table, "All right, so,** _ **what**_ **? We have a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?"**

"That's a morbid way to put it," Grover brayed.

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger and exhaled harshly, "There is _no_ demon!"

Persephone placed a hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him down, trading a worried look with Hecate from over his head.

" **Yeah. You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one?" Sam suddenly brought up.**

The demigods stared warily at one another, and some – Percy – sent a surreptitious glance at Zeus who looked incensed at the mere thought.

"Apparently brother, you need to make a full sweep of your domain. A plane crashing unnaturally is bad for business," Hades sneered, unable to pass the opportunity to finally beat Zeus at his own game.

Zeus glowered in response. "Oh, I see how it is. I blame you for the ghosts, I blame Poseidon for the lake haunting, and now it's my turn to take the blame?"

In sync, Poseidon and Hades exclaimed, "Yes!"

Hera cleared her throat loudly before the bickering brothers had a chance to proceed with their dispute. "Enough, brothers of mine. Zeus, once we are done here, you shall look into this. It is one thing for your temperament to generate plane crashes and air disasters, but a demon or whatever entity this is have no business producing calamities in a place of your jurisdiction. Deal with it."

"Yes, Dear," Zeus sighed, resigned, adamantly ignoring the smug smirks that were currently adorning his brothers' visages.

 **Liv chugged her energy drink. "I need something stronger," she pouted, mournfully staring at the empty can.**

"Welcome to my world," Dionysus grumbled, shooting his father a glare that, as usual, went ignored.

 **Dean let out a bark of laughter while Sam glared at her in disapproval, "You're** _ **underage**_ **, Liv!"**

" **Oh,** _ **shut UP**_ **, Sammy!" Liv retorted heatedly. Suddenly, without warning, she let out a rage-filled yell and hurled the empty can against the wall, hard. "This isn't our normal gig, you guys! I mean,** _ **demons**_ **? Freaking demons! They don't want anything but death and destruction for shits and giggles. This is** _ **huge**_ **. I… I want Uncle John. I want him** _ **so bad**_ **. He** _ **always**_ **knows what to do," she sniffled as tears sprung from her lids and trailed down her face.**

Seeing Olivia cry sent a pang in his chest, and so, Ares covered it up with a scathing remark, "See, the runt's nothing but a crybaby. And you wonder why I don't acknowledge her."

"I'm gonna take a leaf out of Olivia's book and tell you to shut up, Ares," Apollo snarled, eyes burning with anger. "Your daughter's terrified. She's sixteen and scared and facing something she's probably never fought before that attacks airborne! Come on! Where's your compassion?!"

Ares grunted and looked away, burning a hole through the screen with his flaming sockets.

"It's not a demon," Hades snapped half-heartedly.

"Be as it may, Hades. No point fussing over it. Whatever it is, we'll find out soon enough," Hestia softly consoled him.

"I have a question. Shits and giggles, what does it mean?" Dionysus solemnly inquired, his curiosity peaked.

Percy rolled her eyes, "It's kinda an idiom for fun. Like… doing something for your own amusement."

"Ahh. Ingenious, really," he muttered, returning to his magazine which immediately combusted into flames. " _Hephaestus_!" he groaned.

 **Dean was immediately by her side, wrapping both arms around her. He stroked a hand through her hair and crooned, "It's okay, Liv. I wish he were here, too."**

"John better have a good reason for his absence," Aphrodite snapped, empathizing with Dean and Liv, yet not wanting to think badly of John.

 **Sam looked lost as he stared sadly at his cousin until Dean's phone rang, interrupting the moment. Still keeping an arm around her, he dragged her over to the bedside table and answered his phone, "Hello?"**

 **The scene alternated once again, showing Jerry in his office on the phone. "Dean, it's Jerry. My pilot friend…Chuck Lambert is dead."**

" **Wha- Jerry, I'm sorry. What happened?" Dean frowned.**

" **He and his buddy went up in a small twin about an hour ago. The plane went down," Jerry revealed.**

 **Dean's gaze met Sam's, "Where'd this happen?"**

" **About sixty miles west of here, near Nazareth."**

" **I'll try to ignore the irony in that," Dean sighed. "Listen, Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll catch up with you soon."**

 **Once Dean hung up, Sam asked, "Another crash?"**

 **Sighing, he nodded and after kissing the top of Liv's head, said, "Yeah. Let's go to Nazareth."**

"How exactly are they going to stop this thing?" Frank asked.

Will shrugged. "Thinking off the top of my head, I'd say the only way to solve this case is by actually getting onboard the pl… _ane_ ," he drifted off at the realization of what he had said out loud, horrified.

There was a sudden hush in the room as everyone processed Will's words, noting that he was spot-on with his theory.

" _Di immortales_ ," Aphrodite gasped, wide eyes pausing to gauge her lover's reaction.

Ares remained ramrod straight, posture tense, fists clenched, and eyes stubbornly staring ahead, only the whitening of his knuckles and the harsh exhalation from his nostrils gave evidence that he heard and understood the perilous situation the Winchesters were most probably about to get themselves into.

"There's nothing I can do about it," Zeus defended almost instantly, hands raised, when he saw the myriad of gazes concentrating on his person. "If I knew of this accursed entity, I would have smited him from where he stood during the first flight."

While he too was tense, Poseidon, ever the peacemaker, spoke up, his baritone voice soothing their nerves, "Let us not get ahead of ourselves. Maybe they'll discover a way to end this threat on ground."

 **The Impala could be seen driving past a road sign that read: NAZARETH 3. Black smoke was visible in the near distance.**

 **The scene shifted to show the Winchesters congregated, once again in Jerry's office, with Jerry looking through a microscope.**

" **Sulfur?" Dean inquired. Jerry nodded in affirmative. "Well, that's great. All right, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him."**

"Not a demon!" Hades gritted out through clenched teeth.

" **With all due respect to Chuck, if that's the case, that would be good news," Sam announced, grimly.**

Leo shook his head. "That guy's just a bright ray of sunshine, ain't he?" he scoffed.

"Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside," Connor sarcastically added.

" **What's the bad news?" Dean asked, his eyes flickering over to Liv, who was pacing around and muttering inaudibly to herself with her face buried in her palms.**

"I realized that that's Liv's thinking pose," Percy randomly pointed out.

Ares stared intently at the sea spawn. "Explain," he gruffly demanded.

Shrugging noncommittally, Percy said, "During the Woman in White case, Liv had her face buried in her palms and was muttering to herself before she cracked the case."

"Nicely deduced, Seaweed Brain," Thalia grinned, a devious glint in her eyes. "Must be Annabeth's influence, huh?"

Percy playfully shoved her, "Green doesn't suit you, Pinecone Face."

" **Chuck's plane went down** _ **exactly**_ **forty minutes into flight. And get this, so did flight 2485," Sam explained in one breath.**

Apollo clapped his hands together victoriously, "I said it! Didn't I say it? I knew 'forty minutes' was crucial to the thing's devious plot!"

"Yes, yes, good for you, now _hush_ ," Artemis snapped.

" **Forty minutes? What does that mean?" Jerry looked confused while Liv continued to mumble in the background.**

" **It's biblical numerology," Dean revealed, turning to Jerry. "You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death."**

Rachel looked amazed, "It's in the littlest details."

"How the hell…" Percy trailed off, incredulous at the discovery.

Apollo shook his head, "God of Knowledge and all, and I did _not_ see that coming."

"None of us did," Athena reluctantly admitted, furious with herself.

"One piece of the puzzle solved," Katie breathed out, curiously scrutinizing the screen.

" **I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in," Sam illuminated.**

"Zeus," Poseidon sighed, his tone lacked any censure, merely a combination of inquisitive and sympathetic.

For his part, the Lord of the Sky was at a loss for words, furious with himself for allowing some abominable cretin to invade his domain and wreak havoc, polluting the sky with its poison.

"Ten years. Ten _bloody_ years, and I remained blind to this abomination's destruction! HOW?" Zeus boomed, the potent scent of ozone pervading the air.

"The Fates have done us a favor, my Lord," Hecate courteously interjected the preliminary to his ranter. "Perhaps this is one of the reasons why they demanded us to witness these future events. To change them. To learn from our mistakes. To right wrongs."

Hera nodded, "Hecate's right, my love. With this knowledge, you have the chance to smite this simpleton before it generates even more chaos and death."

Sufficiently calmer, Zeus clasped her hand in his and brushed his lips against her knuckles before fixating his attention onto the screen, never once releasing his wife's hand from his own, prompting a bright smile to materialize on her gorgeous visage.

Thalia wrinkled her nose, staring at their linked hands with palpable distaste.

The smile that appeared on Hestia's face threatened to split it in half, hope once again coursing through her veins; hope for her family and hope for their future happiness, filled only with peaceful gatherings and laughter. All Hera required was Zeus's love and attention, a desperate yearning he had been denying her for centuries, embittering her in the process.

" _ **Oh my G.O.D**_ **!" Liv gasped loudly.**

"She solved the case," Percy confidently stated.

Curious, everyone leaned forward, not wanting to miss a word of the following conversation.

 **Dean, Sam and Jerry whirled around to face her, confused. Liv darted over to Sam's side, "Where there any survivors, Sam?"**

 **Sam rapidly shook his head, "No-"**

" **It makes sense now!" she gasped, eyes sparkling with life. "There weren't any survivors until flight 2485, for only** _ **God knows**_ **what reason." Turning to face Dean, she said, "Remember, the cockpit voice recorder, the EVP said "No survivors" but that's not true, 'cause there were seven." Her dark gaze flickered between the three men as she rushed out in one breath, "It's going after the remaining survivors. Trying to finish the job."**

 **Dean's eyes widened. "** _ **Son of a bitch**_ **!" he swore.**

"She's a genius!" Annabeth gasped.

Leo fluttered his eyelashes, "Beauty, Brave, Body and Brains. She got the full package."

"I'm so telling on you to Cally when we get back to the future," Thalia mumbled without any real heat.

Ares shoved down the bubble of pride and breathed through his nostrils, willing himself to remain detached.

 **It was nighttime, and the Impala was driving down the road. The camera homed in on the interior of the Impala.**

 **Sam had the phone to his ear, "Really? Well, thank you for taking our survey. And if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks." He then hung up and tossed the phone aside. "All right. That takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flying anytime soon."**

"I frankly don't blame them," Nico grimaced.

A rapidly paling Thalia spoke up, "I don't get it. If I, gods forbid, was in a plane crash and _survived_ , I would never ever stand within four feet of a freaking airport ever again. I'd rather not play with Fate thank you very much."

Zeus frowned at his daughter, genuinely perplexed, "As my daughter, Thalia, you would never need to worry about perishing to such a fate. You are exempt."

Percy and Nico couldn't help but roll their eyes at the blatant favoritism, never mind the bazillion wrong implications Zeus disclosed in just that one seemingly innocuous statement. Poseidon and Hades seemed to be thinking amongst the same lines as their sons, for a pronounced frown made an appearance on their faces as they glared at their little brother.

" **So our only wildcard is the flight attendant Amanda Walker," Dean concluded.**

"Oh, I remember the mortal girl. I'm glad she at least survived," Ariadne sighed in relief.

Rachel snapped her fingers, "She's the one that saw his eyes go black. _Right_. I remember."

" **Right. Her sister Karen said her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight pm. It's her first night back on the job," Sam grimaced.**

 **Dean snarkily said, "That sounds just like our luck."**

 **Liv scowled, "Why the hell would she do that? She's** _ **tempting**_ **fate for crying out loud. If I were her, I'd quit."**

"Took the words right out of my mind," Percy chuckled, the sound lacking humor.

"Yeah but _statistically_ , the odds of a plane crash without outside influences are like…. _one_ in a _million_ , Percy," Annabeth hesitantly divulged. "If it weren't for this _supernatural influence_ then none of these planes would have crashed."

Thalia shuddered, "Still. She must have heard of the plane crashing _again_ , she shouldn't be too quick to gamble with her life."

" **Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man, even with you behind the wheel," Sam grimaced.**

Travis shook his head, "That guy really knows how to kill the mood."

Rolling her eyes, Katie lightly slapped his chest, "Trav, he's simply stating the facts."

"I hope they make it," Hazel murmured, worried for the poor girl's life.

" **Call Amanda's cellphone again, see if we can't head her off at the pass," Dean demanded, pressing his foot on the gas.**

 **Sam sighed, "I already left her** _ **three**_ **voice messages. She must have turned her cellphone off."**

Rachel nodded knowingly, "It's the most important regulation. _The_ number one rule. The use of mobile phones is prohibited, especially during takeoff because of potential interference with ground networks." Due to her father's profession, Rachel was no stranger to airplanes, always traveling from one country to another.

"Meaning they're already too late, right? If her phone's off then she's already onboard…" Piper trailed off inquiringly.

Rachel pursed her lips, "No, not necessarily. She probably just shut it off early and stored it away."

" **God, we're never gonna make it," he muttered, putting his phone away.**

 **Liv rolled her eyes and teasingly said, "Not with that attitude we won't. You know… maybe with my driving, we'll get there in record ti-"**

" _ **No**_ **!" Dean and Sam yelled, prompting her to jump in her seat.**

Irregardless of the serious situation, sounds of laughter met the Winchesters' comical interaction.

Apollo and Hermes studied Ares from their peripheral vision, the same thoughts reverberating in their heads, ' _Fond of speed just like her father…_ '

 **Dean continued, his expression set in determination, "We'll make it."**

"At least that one's optimistic," Clarisse grumbled under her breath. Sam's constant negativity was dampening her already awful mood.

 **The scene shifted: the Winchesters were rushing into the airport, not stopping until they reached the Departure board. Liv's eyes were narrowed into slits as she tried to make out the tiny script when Sam abruptly pointed at the plane Amanda was on.**

" **Right there! They're boarding in thirty minutes," Sam exclaimed.**

"Well I'll be damned. They actually beat the five hour drive and reached a full thirty minutes before takeoff," Apollo whistled, impressed.

Hera clucked her tongue, "They're lucky they didn't cause an accident with the reckless driving."

" **Okay. We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone," Dean mused.**

 **Liv wasted no time in darting over to the courtesy phone and after a cool female voice announced "Airport Services" she calmly spoke, "Hi. Gate thirteen. I'm trying to contact Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on flight-" Sam quickly whispered the number, "-flight 424."**

Surprising them all, Dionysus drawled, "They're simply delaying the inevitable."

Ariadne cocked her head, "Why would you say that, Dear?"

"Because," he sighed, sounding wholly uninterested as he flipped over a page of his magazine. "Even if they _do_ succeed in having this mortal miss her flight, this _being_ would still come after her. Those hunters cannot delay _all_ her flights, and this being will not cease its attempts on her life. It will keep pursuing her thus, instigating a never-ending game of Cat and Mouse."

Percy blinked in shock and murmured to Annabeth and Grover, "Wow, he was actually paying attention."

"Just because you murmur, Peter Johnson, does not mean I am incapable of hearing you," the wine god dryly stated with a roll of his eyes.

Apollo shrugged, looking terribly amused, "Kid's got a point, though. You mostly interact with us when you're about to make a commentary relating to gore and being eaten alive."

Dionysus simply snapped his fingers and, after throwing a glare of distaste at the can of Diet Coke, he opened it and took a reluctant sip.

"Dionysus is correct however," Hecate spoke up when the wine god made it clear that he was no longer a part of the conversation, turning his attention back to his magazine. "This will only end with Amanda's death, or the _entity's_. And I strongly believe the only way to end this abomination is _aboard_ the plane."

A tension-filled silence engulfed the room as they all turned back to the screen.

 **The shot alternated between the Winchesters and Gate 13 as the PA announced, "Amanda Walker, Amanda Walker, you have a phone call. White courtesy phone, gate thirteen."**

 **Hearing the announcement as she was approaching the gate, Amanda picked up the aforementioned phone, "This is Amanda Walker."**

" **Miss Walker. Hi, this is Nurse Ava from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. You are the emergency contact for a Miss Karen Walker," Liv spoke into the phone, tapping her foot impatiently.**

" **Karen?"**

" **Nothing serious, just a minor car accident, but she was injured, so –"**

 **Amanda frowned, shaking her head, "Wa- wait, that's impossible. I** _ **just**_ **got off the phone with her five minutes ago. She's at her house, cramming for a final. Who is this?"**

"Busted!" the Stolls intoned, no hint of amusement on their faces.

Chris grimaced, "Although, it was a good cover. Just bad luck."

"She survived a plane crash, her streak of luck had to end somewhere," Jason negatively pointed out.

Nico scoffed, "With that negativity, you and Sam would get along like a house on fire."

"Shut up, _Neeks_ ," Jason smirked.

The son of Hades scowled darkly at him but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

 **Liv paused, placing the phone against her check as she swore. Squaring her shoulders and ignoring Dean and Sam's inquiring looks, she said, "All right, you caught me. Listen Amanda, I'm just gonna go right ahead and say it, you** _ **cannot**_ **get aboard that plane."**

" _ **What**_ **?" Sam hissed, confused.**

 **Amanda's face clouded with suspicion, her eyes narrowed, "Is this one of Vince's friends?"**

"She just handed Liv an excuse on a silver platter," Percy pointed out.

 **With a tight-lipped smile, Liv said, "Guilty as charged. He's a mess, really. It's pathetic. He** _ **really**_ **needs to see you tonight-"**

" **Oh yeah?" Amanda scoffed. "Look, I've got to go. Um… tell him to call me when I land." and she hung up, greeting her coworkers as she made her way over to the plane.**

" _ **Fuck**_ **!" Liv swore, slamming the phone shut.**

Excited, Dionysus banished his magazine and leisurely lounged on his throne, looking – unlike nearly every other occupant in the room – at ease, "Only one option left."

"Can you sound any more interested," Hermes sarcastically snapped.

The wine god simply hummed around the rim of his can, purple orbs flaring with interest.

 **Alternating back to Amanda, the camera fixated on a familiar cloud of black smoke as it seeped out a vent before retreating back in.**

"Their theory was correct, then," Annabeth sighed in defeat.

 **Back to the Winchesters, the intercom announced, "Thank you for flying United Britannia Airlines."**

" **All right, it's time for Plan B. We're getting on that plane," Sam resolutely declared.**

" _No_!" Aphrodite cried out. While she was 98% sure that it would inevitably end in this route, she enjoyed remaining in denial, not wanting to observe the family she was so invested in, being placed in grave danger.

Feebly, Percy addressed the room at large, "There must be another way."

"Afraid not, Pedro," Dionysus drawled out.

Ariadne smacked his chest, "Behave!"

The armrest groaned under Ares' deathly grip, his emotions conflicted.

 **Wide-eyed, Dean whirled around to gape at Sam. "Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second!"**

" **That's a suicide mission, Sam!" Liv exclaimed, though her expression was torn and her tone was weak. She sidled closer to Dean and interlaced their hands together, flashing him a look of concern.**

 **Sam grimaced and nodded his head. "I know. But… Dean, Liv, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash."**

 **Resigned, Dean lowered his gaze to the ground, "I know."**

"If only they were selfish individuals and simply decided to save themselves," Poseidon groused out. He like Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Persephone and Ariadne had taken a great liking toward the admirable family, especially Olivia, and he couldn't bear to watch them place themselves in the middle of a precarious situation, one that screamed of hopelessness and reeked of death.

The fact that three mortals were more aware of foul play in his domain, and were actually selfless enough to end the abomination and protect the skies left a sour taste in his mouth, for Zeus despised showing gratitude to inconsequential beings such as mortals.

Frothing at the mouth, Zeus growled to himself, "A decade I remain oblivious."

"They'll live through it," Rachel abruptly announced.

Leo let out an audible sigh of relief and pumped a fist in the air, "YES!"

Piper rolled her eyes. "It's not a prediction, Leo," she said, exasperated.

Blinking in befuddlement, the twitchy demigod said, "It's not."

"No," Apollo smiled tightly. "Rachel's just trying to instill hope."

"Haplessly optimistic," Dionysus murmured, capturing Ariadne's hand just before it could once again, impact with his chest and chastely pecked her fingers.

Rachel firmly shook her head, "I just… I'm confident in the Winchesters' abilities. Besides, I don't think their story ends here, right? I mean, it can't. I cannot believe the Fates brought us all here to learn about Olivia's life, just to watch them die in a plane crash."

Unseen to all, Ares' posture, that had been subtly tensed, slumped in relief, realizing the Oracle's words had merit. Of course, he didn't care whether or not the runt died, he'd just prefer to _not_ see it with his own eyes. ' _That's all!_ ' he firmly assured himself.

Rachel's comforting words instilled confidence in everyone and they flashed her tight-lipped smiles.

" **Okay," Sam said, taking charge of the situation. "So we're getting on the plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it.**

" _Impossible_!" Hades hissed for only Persephone and Hecate to hear. The trio traded uncertain glances, starting to have doubt in their stubborn denials, but unable to admit it until the truth smacked them right in the face.

Hecate softly patted his hand, "They do not exist. There is _no_ proof."

Persephone nodded in agreement.

 **I'll get the tickets. You two get whatever you can out of the trunk. Whatever that will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes."**

"How the Had-, uh _Tartarus_ are they going to sneak their weapons past security?" Chris asked the million dollar question.

Grimly, Rachel shook her head, "I don't think they can."

"But they'll be sitting ducks!" a wide-eyed Percy exclaimed.

"Well," Annabeth hedged, staring warily at Hades, Persephone and Hecate. "If this _thing_ is in fact a demon, then… like Sam said, all they need to do is exorcise it. I don't think weapons are a requirement."

It took a lot of effort on Hades' part to swallow back his roar of ' _There's no such thing as demons!_ '

 **Dean anxiously stared back at Sam. Liv sighed sadly and rubbed his forearm, "You okay, Dean?"**

 **Swallowing harshly, he shook his head, "No. Not really."**

"Oh? What's wrong with the poor dear?" Ariadne inquired, much to Dionysus's irritation.

A small grin materialized on Jason's face, "Oh I think I can wager a guess."

Percy frowned at his friend before his eyes lit up in recognition when he side-eyed Thalia – Dean's expression was a carbon copy of Artemis' Lieutenant.

 **Sam stopped and stared at them, "What? What's wrong?"**

" **Well I kind of have this problem with, uh…" Dean trailed off, prompting Liv to disclose, "Dean's terrified of flying."**

Thalia chuckled bitterly, "Dean's officially my favorite Winchester."

Zeus huffed, slightly affronted. "I do not see what the hullabaloo is all about. Flying is not a terrifying experience," he grumbled.

"Please tell me you're joking?" Percy scoffed, staring at the King of Olympus in wide-eyed disbelief.

"I am not… as you put it 'joking', Perseus Jackson," he sneered.

 **Upon seeing Sam's look of disbelief, Dean defensively said, "It's never been an issue until now."**

" **You're joking, right?" Sam then looked over at Liv, "Tell me he's joking."**

 **Liv puffed her cheeks, "Sam. Why do you think we drive everywhere?"**

" **What about you?" Sam asked.**

" **I mean, I'm not a fan of traveling by plane, but no… I'm not scared of flying," Liv responded, throwing Dean an apologetic glance.**

"Two out of three," Connor commented.

 **Sam nodded. "How about you sit this one out, Dean? Liv and I'll –"**

" **What are you nuts?" Dean exclaimed, staring at Sam as though he were crazy. "You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash. Liv's right, it** _ **is**_ **suicidal."**

" **Dean, we can do it together, or Liv and I can do this one without you. I'm not seeing a third option, here," Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.**

Dionysus scoffed, "Of course there is. They can choose to be selfish and let the plane crash."

"Wow, what a benevolent god," Percy snarked.

The wine god narrowed his eyes at the sea spawn, "Of course I am. Otherwise I'd have turned you into a dolphin for your disrespect."

Poseidon growled warningly.

Annabeth, Grover and Nico snorted, their expressions mirroring Percy's amusement.

"Not like I haven't heard that one before. You really need to be more creative with your threats, Mr. D," Percy smirked.

The room was pervaded with Poseidon's growl. "You threatened to turn _my son_ into a _dolphin_?!"

Percy causally added, "An Atlantic bottlenose to be exact."

" _Dionysus_!" Poseidon hissed, glowering at the wine god who deftly concealed his nerves behind a nonchalant façade.

But Percy simply waved a hand, "Eh, among others. Seriously, they've gotten so repetitive I barely flinch anymore."

"Yeah," Thalia snarkily chipped in, her lips twitching. "After being threatened by so many gods, Percy's immune."

Groaning, Poseidon inhaled and exhaled roughly from his nose, staring at his son's amused expression in disbelief. "We'll discuss this later," he vowed, trying to keep his cool and failing, drastically.

"Oh, Dionysus," Ariadne sighed softly, patting her husband's hand.

 **Dean groaned, "Come on!** _ **Really**_ **? Man…"**

 **The scene shifted, portraying the interior of a plane.**

Hazel squeaked in fright, gold eyes warily taking in the inside of the airplane.

"Moment of truth," Katie tightened her grip on Travis' forearm, prompting a wince and a low hiss out of the son of Hermes.

" **Flight attendants, please cross-check doors before departure," a woman on the intercom announced.**

 **The camera then focused on the Winchesters. Sam sat on the window seat, Liv in the middle, and Dean, who sat in the aisle seat, was fidgeting, nervously reading the safety card.**

Ares retrieved his shades from the inside of his leather jacket and slid them on, concealing his orbs as they nervously flickered between the three Winchesters.

Aphrodite stared at him knowingly, but didn't bring any attention to him. She knew her lover hated to openly show emotions when it came to anyone but her.

 **Sam leaned over Liv, who never released her hold on the eldest Winchester's hand, to address Dean, "Just try to relax."**

 **Not missing a beat, Dean retorted, "Just try to shut up."**

Cue a few chuckles of amusement.

 **The plane took off, with Dean jumping at every rumble and the smallest of sounds. Sam smirked and even Liv clapped a hand over her mouth to cover her smile, eyes shining with slight humor.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"Poor guy," Thalia grimaced. "I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to conquer my fears like Dean is, even if it _is_ to save a hundred lives."

Percy leaned over Grover and Nico and clasped Thalia's hand. "I know what you're thinking, Thals. Don't even go there. Everyone has their limits. You and Dean are two completely different people. You're a hero in your own way, and honestly, I think you're brave just for admitting your fears. Besides," Percy let go of her hand, patted it twice and smiled. "I think you'd be surprised with the lengths you'd go through to save someone. I think if you were in Dean's position, you'd get on that plane. You just won't know until you're in the situation."

Zeus arched an eyebrow at the son of Poseidon, genuinely surprised and rendered speechless at his intense words and the palpable tenderness in his voice. Hestia grinned brightly, glad that at least her brothers' children got along swimmingly – she just hoped their close bond would inspire her bickering brothers to cease their constant nonsensical arguments once and for all.

"Thanks, Percy. Glad you have more confidence in me than I do in myself," Thalia smiled weakly, though she felt more at ease.

Jason playfully nudged her with his shoulder, "It's not just Percy, Thalia."

Grover, Rachel and the other demigods all nodded in unison, flustering Thalia in the process.

 **Dean was leaning back in his seat, eyes squeezed shut, humming to himself. Sam looked over at him, "You're humming Metallica?"**

" **Calms me down," was the prompt reply.**

Annabeth leaned into Percy and whispered into his ear, "Hearing your voice calms me down."

Percy's eyes brightened and it took everything in him not to grab her and kiss her right there and then in front of everyone.

"Yo, lovebirds, shut up!" Thalia smirked over at them.

The couple blushed and ignored the many stares fixated upon them, one of which belonged to Athena, her eyes searing holes into the back of Percy's head.

 **Sam sighed apologetically, "Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you got to stay focused."**

" **Sammy, just** _ **shut up**_ **will ya? We're all afraid of something, give it a rest and leave Dean be," Liv snapped, annoyed.**

Percy, Thalia, Nico and the Stolls couldn't help but clap their hands, applauding Liv for standing up for Dean.

Amphitrite frowned, "Sam could at least show some compassion. The fact that Dean went on a plane, despite his phobia, is a remarkable feat."

"I wonder what Sam's afraid of," Apollo mused out loud.

 **Dean flashed Liv a small smile while Sam gave her a bitch face and defensively said, "Look, all I'm saying is we're wasting time. We got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism."**

"Hold on a tick," Hermes abruptly spoke up, prompting an annoyed scowl out of Hera for the constant interruptions. "The past two times, we saw who the black smoke possessed. This time we don't. It could be _anyone_."

Triton looked contemplative, "It's a feasible possibility the flight attendant's possessed. It possessed the last survivor."

"Possibly," Poseidon inclined his head.

"Well, whoever it possessed, we won't know if we keep nattering amongst ourselves, now, would we?" Hera snapped.

Cue many eye rolls and annoyed expressions.

Hestia simply sighed sadly.

" **Yeah, on a crowded plane. That's gonna be easy," Dean scoffed.**

 **Sam offered words of comfort, "Just take it one step at a time, all right? Now, who is it possessing?"**

" **It's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm through," Dean postulated. "Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress."**

' _Not a demon!_ ' Hades angrily thought, fingers cracking as he clenched his hands.

" **Like Amanda," Liv commented. "I think she's our best bet. I mean, it's possible that the demon chose to possess the survivors to kill them off easily."**

 **Sam hummed, "Maybe. It's possible."**

 **Dean then turned to the nearest flight attendant, inquiring her name. Realizing she wasn't Amanda, the Winchesters focused on the flight attendant positioned at the back of the plane. "All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there, so I'll go talk to her, and, uh, I'll get a read on her mental state."**

 **Liv smirked, "You guys can bond over your fear of the plane crashing."**

"Didn't she just reprimand Sam for teasing Dean on his phobia?" Thalia frowned in disapproval.

Clarisse snorted and went to her half-sister's defense, "She's just trying to lighten up the mood."

"It was an ill-timed joke," Percy huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Persephone clucked her tongue, "In my opinion, it's a distasteful attempt at humor. She should know better, seeing as the likelihood of the plane crashing is terribly high."

"Can we _not_ discuss that?!" Aphrodite snapped, terrified for not only the Winchesters, but not wanting her lover to hear about the probability of his daughter dying.

 **Dean threw her a half-hearted glare for her efforts.**

" **What if she's already possessed?" Sam asked, forehead crinkling with worry lines.**

"Knock her unconscious," Nico hazarded a guess.

"Ah, but what's to say that if the possessed body is rendered unconscious, the entity would be as well?" Hecate countered Nico's suggestion. "The entity would be forewarned and would simply possess another mortal, hiding in plain sight."

" **There's ways to test that," Dean stated. He rooted through his duffle bag and pulled out a Virgin Mary-shaped bottle of water. "I brought holy water."**

Many pairs of eyes flickered over and settled onto Hades, who sat frozen on his throne with an expression of disbelief etched onto his face.

"How does one make holy water?" Rachel chirped, attempting to assuage the tension in the room.

"It cannot be," Hades gasped, cutting anyone off from providing the Oracle with a response. "Holy water is meant to repel evil. It could simply be a malevolent spirit or…"

Poseidon stared at his older brother, his visage sad and grim. "Brother, I think you have bathed in the sea of denial for far too long. I believe it is time for you to accept that demons ostensibly exist."

Nico rapidly shook his head, "But-"

"We went through the same process upon discovering ghosts had the ability to roam around without the need of a summoner," Persephone sadly revealed, in silent agreement with her uncle, despite how far-fetched the theory proved to be.

Artemis grimly nodded, commiserating with her uncle, "How do you think I felt when the existence of wendigos came to light? Like a failure. I am _the_ Goddess of the Hunt and the Wild. I dedicated my entire life to cleansing the world of monsters and protecting life, and yet, a monster I never believed existed outside of folklore, rampaged the nights and shed blood."

"Mull it over for now, brother. I'm sure an explanation will soon be provided," Hestia calmly uttered.

" **No," Sam sharply negated, reaching over Liv to snatch the bottle from Dean, and tucking it inside his hoodie. "I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God."**

Percy arched his brows, "Is he for real?"

 **Liv pursed her lips, arching her body to better face Sam. "That doesn't always work, Sammy. I'm with Dean. All we have to do is accidentally trip, spill some holy water on the bitch, it sizzles and we exorcise its ass. Nice and quick."**

" **What about witnesses?" Sam asked, condescendingly.**

Dionysus yawned, "What _about_ the witnesses?"

Hecate rolled her eyes, "Obviously my Mist won't distort the mortals' sight. This…dem- _abomination_ is not of Roman or Grecian origin."

" _And_?" Dionysus probed, not seeing the point.

Through gritted teeth, Hades hissed, " _And_ you blithering drunk, pandemonium will occur with the exposure! You _know_ that!"

The wine god produced a long-suffering sigh, "Personally, I do not see what the problem is. Simply kill them all. Win, win."

"For who?" Thalia sneered.

" _Dionysus_!" Ariadne hissed, shaking her head in disapproval. She then addressed the room at large, her words mostly aimed at the demigods as the gods were used to her husband's… oddities. "He's joking."

Dionysus frowned in affront, "No I'm no-"

"Yes, you _ARE_. Now _hush_!" she sharply rebuked him.

" **Whoa,** _ **whoa**_ **, calm down you two," Dean silenced them. "Look, I say we do it Sam's way and keep the holy water aside in case we need to restrain the demon. Good?"**

 **Sam and Liv glared at each other for a moment before nodding in sync.**

Hermes leaned forward and whispered to Apollo, "Those two remind me of Dad and Uncle P when they start arguing."

Just as Apollo made an attempt to stifle his laughter, Zeus and Poseidon glowered at them, "We can hear you!"

 **Staring intently at his brother and cousin one last time, he nodded and turned to leave, only to be abruptly stopped by Sam. "What?"**

" **Say it in Latin," Sam reminded him.**

 **Dean rolled his eyes, "I know." Just as he went to leave again, Sam stopped him for the second time, "** _ **Hey**_ **!"**

" _ **What**_ **?!" he groused out, annoyed.**

 **Thinking quick, Sam said, "Uh, in Latin, it's 'Christo'."**

"No it's not!" every single demigod and god intoned in amused exasperation.

Jason, Hazel and Frank tried to smother their laughter at Sam's error.

"The Latin word for God is _Deus_ , _not_ Christo," Apollo chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

Rachel shrugged. "In Sam's defense, Latin isn't his first language. And it's not exactly an easy language to learn for those that aren't hardwired to Latin," she added the last part to Hazel, Frank and Jason.

"Yes, but apparently that's a mistake that can get not only them, but a hundred mortals, killed," Ares grunted.

 **Dean rolled his eyes, "Dude,** _ **I know**_ **! I'm not an idiot."**

The Stolls snickered, "No comment."

" **Apparently,** _ **both of you**_ **are idiots," Liv drawled, rolling her eyes at her cousins. "** _ **Christo**_ **is Greek for 'The Anointed One'," she remarked in a 'duh' tone.**

"If she didn't know that, I'd have been really disappointed," Aphrodite commented with a fond smile.

Athena acerbically muttered, "I wouldn't be surprised."

" _Athena_!" Zeus snapped, electric blue eyes blazing with a warning.

Ares sneered at her but kept his mouth firmly shut, not seeing the need to defend the runt.

 **While Dean stared at Liv sheepishly, Sam arched an eyebrow, "And you'd know that** _ **because**_ **…"**

" _ **Because**_ **, Sammy. While you were away, Uncle John, Dean and I realized that for some ungodly reason, I'm actually fluent in both Ancient and Modern Greek," Liv disclosed, trying and failing to sound casual.**

 **Sam frowned, staring at Dean for the truth, and when he nodded, his perplexed gaze slid back to Liv. "But, wh-how?" he spluttered.**

" **That's not important right now. What** _ **is**_ **important is getting the translation right," Liv snapped, her posture screaming** _ **disturbed**_ **and** _ **uncomfortable**_ **. "I think it's Deus."**

"Oh thank Lord," Rachel sighed, all tension abandoning her body.

Percy frowned, "How did she know that? Latin's hard to comprehend when it comes to most Greek demigods."

Artemis cleared her throat, "If I were to hazard a guess. I'd say that with their profession, they are knowledgeable in an extensive amount of subjects. How did they know about Noah's ark? Researching is a crucial aspect in the hunting life."

 **Sam slapped his forehead, "Right.** _ **Deus**_ **. How'd I forget?" As Dean turned to leave for the third and last time, shuddering and bumping into a nearby seat after the plane shook, Sam leveled Liv with a solemn gaze, "Don't think I'm about to let this go."**

" **Whatever, Sam," Liv huffed, deliberately looking away from his intense stare.**

 **Dean paused in front of Amanda, who was fussing with the drink cart and the napkins. She looked over at Dean and smiled politely once he greeted her. "Hi. Can I help you with something?" she inquired.**

" **Oh, no. I'm just a bit of an uneasy flier. It makes me feel better to walk around a little bit," Dean said, nervously studying his surroundings.**

"See. Liv had a point. He's using his fear of flying as bonding material," Clarisse smirked.

Thalia simply glared, unamused.

" **Oh, it happens to the best of us," Amanda smiled. Dean nodded, "Of course, you being a stewardess, I guess flying comes easy to you."**

 **Amanda laughed, "You'd be surprised."**

"Then quit," Nico rolled his eyes.

Jason snorted, "Ugh, just say _Deus_ and move on. He's wasting time."

" **Really? You're a nervous flier?"**

"It's a recent phobia," Travis mockingly drawled.

 **Amanda bobbed her head, "Yeah, maybe, little bit."**

 **Dean faked confusion, "How is it that, being a stewardess, you're scared to fly?"**

"Oh, you know, being one of the seven survivors out of a hundred," Connor snorted without real humor.

" **Kind of a long story," Amanda circumvented.**

" **Right. I'm sorry for asking," Dean apologized. Then, as an afterthought, he asked, "You ever consider other employment."**

Katie scoffed, "A sane person would."

"I think we've established that Amanda apparently likes to live on the edge," Travis teased, swooping down to place a quick kiss on Katie's lips.

Demeter couldn't help but coo about how adorable they were, much to Athena and Artemis' irritation and Hera's envy.

" **No," she shook her head. "Look, everybody's scared of something. I just, uh… I'm not gonna let it hold me back."**

Poseidon inclined his head, "Very admirable."

"I still think she's insane," Thalia muttered under her breath.

 **A brow rose on Dean's face, "Huh." He stared at Amanda for a brief moment before he casually and quietly stated, "Deus."**

 **Nothing happened.**

"So… she's not the demon?" Annabeth rhetorically muttered.

" **I'm sorry. Did you say something?" she asked, head cocked in confusion.**

 **Weakly chuckling, Dean repeated, "Deus?"**

"That's actually not good," Apollo pulled a face. "Amanda was the Winchesters best bet. They can't exactly stop by each and every passenger and say 'Deus' all before the forty minutes run out."

Thalia shook her head, "Aren't you just a bright ray of sunshine."

"I am," Apollo winked.

The Stolls, Chris, Leo, Percy, Rachel, Piper and Nico chuckled.

"It was a _figure of speech_ , Apollo," Thalia deadpanned.

Apollo shrugged, a sexy smirk on his lips, "I know that. But I'm serious. _Realistically_ , I _am_ the sun."

"Ugh, you're incorrigible!" Thalia groused out, no real heat behind her words.

He simply retorted with a wink, "I'll take that as a compliment, sissy."

Artemis shot Thalia a commiserating look, "Welcome to the club. I promise you, he's not even at his worst."

"We know," Thalia, Percy, Nico and Grover intoned, prompting a cheeky grin out of the sun god.

 **Amanda stuttered in confusion, prompting Dean to quickly return to his seat. Sitting down in his aisle seat next to Liv, he said, "All right, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet."**

 **Sam leaned forward, "You said 'Deus'?"**

" **Yeah."**

" _ **And**_ **?" Liv urged. Dean dragged a hand down his face, "There's no demon in her. There's no demon getting in her."**

" _Or_ , the entity _is_ in fact possessing her, but as it isn't a demon because there are _no_ such thing as demons, nothing happened," Hades added his input, looking more relaxed ever since the Winchesters first mentioned demonic possessions.

Persephone patted his hand. "Possibly," she appeased her husband, shooting everyone a warning glare. Until the proof is glaring right at them, she'd allow her husband to keep a semblance of normalcy in his mind, not wanting his entire belief system to shatter into pieces unless he was left with no other choice.

" **So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone.** _ **Anywhere**_ **," Sam said.**

 **Liv groaned, propping her chin on her hand, "That's comforting."**

 **The plane shook, eliciting a yelp from Dean. He gripped the armrest and Liv's thigh with each hand, staring around anxiously, "** _ **Come on**_ **! That can't be normal!"**

"It can't, can it?" Thalia squeaked, the mere thought of flying made her want to hurl.

Jason patted her back comfortingly.

Zeus stared at his daughter in worriment.

 **Sam suddenly looked guilty. Liv unwound his hand from her jeans-cladded thigh and replaced it with her hand. "Hey, hey, it's just turbulence, Dean," she softly crooned.**

" **This plane** _ **is going to crash**_ **, okay? So quit treating me like I'm friggin' four," he hissed, though he tightened his grip on Liv's hand. Sam and Liv traded a look.**

" **You need to calm down," Sam calmly stated.**

"Calming down won't stop the plane from crashing!" Thalia shrieked, nearing hyperventilation.

Apollo leapt out of his throne and approached Thalia. "You want me to send you into a dreamless sleep?" he inquired.

"No, no, I'm- I'm good. I wanna know what happens," she stuttered.

When everyone continued to stare at her, unconvinced, she exclaimed, "I'm fine. _Really_."

Apollo nodded and stood up from his kneeling position, turning back to his throne. "All right. But if you change your mind, all you have to do is ask."

Thalia nodded, shooting him a grateful smile.

 **Dean frantically shook his head, "Well, I'm sorry I can't."**

" **Yes, you can," Sam assured him.**

" **Dude, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap; it's not helping," Dean snapped, leaning his head back on the headrest and pinching the bridge of his nose.**

 **With a loud sigh, Liv turned to face Dean, "Fine. I'll then give you the tough love crap. If you're panicked, you're vulnerable to demonic possession, so you need to** _ **calm**_ **your ass down.** _ **Right now**_ **."**

"Wow," Hermes blinked, genuine surprise written all over his face. "She sounded freakishly like Ares. That's something you'd say."

Ares growled, "I'm warning you-"

Hermes fervently shook his head, his expression solemn, "I'm not kidding right now, nor am I trying to goad you into a fight. She seriously sounded like you."

Lifting a skeptical brow, the war god grunted and looked away, his posture screaming defiance. "Frankly, I don't see it," he sneered, turning back to the screen.

 **Face pinched and eyes wide with alarm, Dean took long, slow breaths.**

" **Good," Sam smiled. "Now, while you were checking on Amanda, Liv and I found an exorcism in here that we think is gonna work. The Rituale Romanum," he said, pointing at the journal.**

Apollo tilted his head, "Roman Ritual."

"Isn't that like, one of the official works of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church?" Rachel asked in confusion.

Athena hummed in affirmative.

The demigods traded baffled looks; as each of them had a parent who was an actual god, if any of them were religious during their childhood, before they made it to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter, they stopped believing and furthermore, stopped attending church.

" **What do we have to do?" Dean asked.**

" **It's two parts," Liv whispered, eyes alert. "The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful."**

"And that's a _good_ thing?" Percy exclaimed in disbelief.

 **Dean did a double take, "More powerful? How?"**

" **Well, it doesn't need to possess someone anymore. It can just wreak havoc on its own," Sam explained, taking over from Liv.**

" **Oh. And** _ **why**_ **is that a good thing?" Dean asked.**

"That's what I said," Percy huffed, his expression of disbelief becoming even more pronounced.

Annabeth lightly slapped him, "Kelp-Head, how about you let them explain and _hush_."

 **A devilish smirk materialized on Liv's face, "Well, because the second part sends the bastard straight back to hell once and for all and then its Hasta la Vista motherfucker."**

"Back to hell?" Nico deadpanned, staring at the screen unblinkingly.

Percy frowned and scratched the side of his neck as he recalled a previous discussion he once had with Annabeth during his very first quest when they were passing through the Underworld – a conversation regarding a certain sinful preacher. "Don't they mean Punishment?" he hesitantly inquired.

A paler than usual Hades shook his head. "Humans see what they want to see. For example, a Good Samaritan would be granted Elysium. However, they would imagine their own conception of heaven. If it's white clouds and rainbows and pearly gates or if it's surrounded by their deceased loved ones, then that is what they would see. Same goes for punishment. It all depends on the saint or the sinner's personification of heaven and hell."

"So hell _doesn't_ exist?" Rachel cocked her head, eyes bright with curiosity.

"Yes and no. In a way, hell _does_ exist – in the minds of mortals. But, in reality, hell doesn't exist," Hades patiently explained, glad for the distraction. "It's either Punishment or Elysium, or the more neutral ground, which is Asphodel."

Taking over the inquisition, Frank asked, "And nobody enters or exits the Underworld without tipping you off?"

The Lord of the Underworld stared intently at the son of Mars, wondering what exactly was going through his mind. "Yes? What of it?"

"It's just…" Frank cleared his throat and took courage from Hazel's warmth. "Demons reside in hell. And according to what we've seen and what the Winchesters say, demons _do_ exist. But according to you hell exists only in the imaginations of the mortal souls sent to the Fields of Punishment-"

"Young demigod, skip to the point," Hecate softly interjected.

Realizing what Frank was getting at, Jason took over, "Is it possible that demons reside in the Fields of Punishment and you're not aware of it."

There was a heavy silence in the Throne Room as all eyes were fixated on Hades. He didn't look angry at the demigods for questioning him or even underestimating him, but pensive and… _terrified_? Only Persephone and Hecate understood that Hades was terrified of the unknown.

"It's impossible," Hades finally breathed out. "For many millennia I have ruled the Underworld. And before me, my wretched father had. There are no demons in the Underworld, or in Punishment." He quickly lifted a hand, halting any further inquiries. "I am no longer dwelling in a state of bliss denial. From what we have seen and heard, there are apparently much that we gods have been unaware of, but one thing I am wholly certain of, is the residents of my home. The Underworld is my jurisdiction, under _my_ rule. If demons dwelled in my domain, I would have known. No… If there are in fact demons out there in the vast universe, then make no mistake, their dwelling is _not_ the Underworld."

Zeus shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Perhaps Tartarus?"

"It's possible," Hera softly added. "That hellish component holds many secrets that even we may not have heard of."

But much to the gods' palpable shock and surmounting horror, Percy, Annabeth and Nico firmly and confidently intoned, "No."

"I beg your pardon?" Athena arched an eyebrow.

"There aren't any demons down there," Percy said, his voice cracking.

A look of horror dawned on Poseidon, "How would you know?"

"Instinct," Nico croaked.

Ares scoffed, and while the sound was harsh, his face was anything but. It was unusually soft and difficult to read. "You're lying. And not a good liar either," he gruffly remarked.

"Tell me you didn't," Hades stated in a low hush, onyx orbs dimming. "Tell me you three haven't encroached that place. _Nico_?!" he boomed, his tone desperate.

Percy raised both hands as a sign of peace, "Look, we're getting off-track here-"

"Perseus!" Poseidon beseeched while Athena simultaneously cried out her daughter's name.

Exhaling roughly from his nose, Percy met his father's devastated gaze, "A lot of things happen in the future."

"That's not an answer," Hades hissed.

"Percy," Poseidon softly pleaded.

The silence was suffocating as the gods waited with bated breaths for an answer, the demigods averting their stares.

"Yes. Nico, Annabeth and I, we, at a point in our lives, we were dragged into Tartarus," Percy finally confessed.

Pandemonium struck as the three godly parents began to rant and rave as the other gods voiced out their disbelief, shock and horror.

"How are you still alive?" Hecate whispered in morbid awe.

"Alive? How did the three of you manage to hold on to your sanity?!" Hades snarled, furious at what the future held for his son.

"Look, the important thing is that we got out, okay?" Annabeth yelled over the gods' uproar. "I promise you, _we_ promise, we'll tell you everything, but not now. _Later_ … _Please_."

In a bout of randomness, Rachel attempted once again to assuage the suffocating tension. "So… if there is a hell, does that mean there's a heaven?"

"No," Zeus gritted out while Hades snarled, "There is _no_ hell."

Katie scoffed, "That's what you said about demons."

Percy, Annabeth and Nico sent their friends grateful smiles, realizing their attempt to evade the topic of Tartarus. They knew – _oh, they knew_ – that sooner or later, the subject would have to be brought up so that they could, according to the Fates, change the future, but that didn't mean they enjoyed discussing their stint in the nightmare of all nightmares. Simply hearing the name brought shivers down their spines. During slumber they couldn't escape the nightmares, and for that reason, during the day, they preferred to avoid the topic and pretend Tartarus never happened.

"How about we return to the episode and discuss such matters later, hmm?" Hestia announced, putting an end to all disputes, though her eyes would constantly examine the three demigods that her heart went out to, pitying the poor souls.

" **First things first, we got to find it," Dean pointed out.**

 **The scene suddenly shifted: Dean and Liv had split up, each taking an aisle, with their EMF meters out. Some passengers stared at them oddly but said nothing.**

"That would be a strange sight," Percy chuckled nervously, trying to avoid his Dad's glances. He kept looking at him as though he were in mourning – _heck_ , even Amphitrite and Triton were staring at him as though he were about to vanish at any moment and they didn't even _like_ him.

 **Receiving no results, Liv joined Sam and Dean. "Nothing," she grumbled.**

" **Same," Dean grimaced. "How much time we got?" he asked Sam.**

" **Fifteen minutes. Maybe we missed somebody."**

Apollo winced, "They're cutting it close."

Silver eyes widened. "They didn't check the cockpit!" Artemis suddenly realized.

" **Maybe the thing's not on the plane," Dean shrugged.**

 **Sam threw Dean a skeptical look, "You believe that?"**

" **Since when have we ever been lucky, boys?" Liv bitterly remarked.**

Aphrodite blinked back tears, Olivia's matter-of-fact yet horrendously depressing statement affecting her more than it should have.

 **The words barely left her mouth when the two EMF meters spiked. Three heads looked up to see the copilot leaving the bathroom and head towards the cockpit.**

" **Deus," a wide-eyed Liv abruptly whispered.**

 **The copilot, in slow motion, turned to face them, his eyes completely black. As the Winchesters stared back at him in various states of horror, the copilot went into the cockpit and the screen turned black.**

A brief pause filled the room.

"I don't know about you guys," Connor chuckled uneasily, eyes wide. "But I was really hoping they were joking about the whole Deus, demon thing."

Travis gulped, absently bobbing his head. "I know. I half-expected nothing to happen."

"So… I guess this cements it, huh. Demons do exist," Hermes bravely announced, his unease mirroring his sons.

Hades lifted both his clenched fists to his forehead, eyes tightly shut as he processed the earth-shattering discovery, feeling as though his entire universe was flipping upside down.

"If demons exist, then where the hell are they?" Triton surprised them all with his abrasive comment.

"We've been around for countless of millennia," Zeus groused out through gritted teeth. "Where were they? How did we remain utterly oblivious to their existence?"

Hades however, was concerned over one particularly troubling fact. "What alarms me most, is not of their sudden existence, but of where they dwell. The Winchesters speak of hell, yet the only hell I am aware of is Punishment, and that… _that_ is most unsettling."

After a beat of silence, Rachel cleared her throat and hesitantly divulged, "Well… uh, it is a widely known fact that Hell is a realm underneath the Earth."

The Lord of the Dead politely inclined his head. "Yes, and that is exactly _what_ alarms me, Ms. Dare. For you see, _my_ domain is situated underneath the Earth. And underneath the Underworld is Tartarus. Lastly, underneath that infernal pit is the Void of Chaos. If there is a Hell, then… by all means, where is it?"

There was absolutely no comment.

Poseidon and Athena however, were more concerned with their respective child, both of whom perceptively shivered at the mention of the Void.

"Again, a concept to discuss at a later date…Hopefully, our questions will be answered in due time," Hestia calmly declared.

" **She's going to think we're crazy," Liv hissed as the scene opened, showing the Winchesters making their way to the back of the plane where Amanda stood.**

 **Dean huffed, "There's twelve minutes left, Liv. We're desperate."**

"Twelve minutes!" Aphrodite shrieked, gripping Ares' wrist.

With a barely audible sigh, Ares extricated his hand from her firm grip and wound an arm around her waist, allowing her to burrow herself into his hard chest for much needed comfort.

" **Oh, hi. Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope," Amanda kindly addressed them.**

 **Liv pushed him forward, her expression displeased. Smiling nervously, Dean said, "Actually, that's kind of what we need to talk to you about."**

 **Sam abruptly closed the curtain.**

"Yeah, and that doesn't look intimidating," Thalia scoffed. "The woman probably thinks they're axe-murderers or something."

Annabeth snorted, shaking her head at Thalia. "You're crazy, Thals."

"And you're just realizing that?" Percy teased.

" **Um, okay. What can I do for you?" Amanda asked, unsurely.**

" **All right, this is gonna sound nuts, but we just don't have time for the whole "the truth is out there" speech right now," Dean rambled nervously.**

 **Sam offered her a tight-lipped smile, "All right, look, we know you were on flight 2485."**

 **In the blink of an eye, Amanda's smile disappeared and her posture turned tense. "Who are you guys?" she asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.**

"Sam closes the curtain and she doesn't even blink, but when they mention _that_ she gets suspicious? _Come._ _On_!" Thalia snapped.

Clarisse glowered at her. "Who's side are you on?" she sneered.

"I just want this stinking case to end already!" she hysterically retorted.

Jason sighed. He released Piper from his embrace and turned to Thalia with his arms wide open. "Come here, Thals. Just relax," he cooed as she nestled herself in his warm embrace. "And I thought I was supposed to be the young one," he teased good-naturedly.

"Shut up," Thalia grumbled, her words coming out slightly muffled. "I'll forever be your big sister, now it's your turn to pay me back," she grinned.

Zeus smiled at his children, eyes fond.

"Why can't you be like them?" Apollo turned to Artemis, a cheeky grin on his face.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Because you're a nuisance."

"Love you too, little sis."

"I'm _older than you_... And don't call me _sis_!"

"Not looking like that you're not," Apollo smirked, referring to her twelve-year-old form.

She hissed venomously in response.

" **That's not important. But you wanna know what is? The fact that we're all gonna die in oh...** _ **eleven minutes**_ **!" Liv snapped.**

" _ **Olivia**_ **!" Dean and Sam hissed in warning.**

"Not very professional, is she?" Chris mumbled.

Connor cocked his head, "It's like… when she's out of uniform she cranky and unpredictable, but when she's imitating an official, she's all about being professional."

Katie and Rachel gaped at the immature Stoll brother.

"That's… that's actually really true. Wow, you hit it right on the nail, Con," Rachel breathed out, eyes wide with awe.

"What's with the tone of surprise?" Connor frowned, unsure whether he should be insulted or not. "I can be smart. I _am_ smart actually. I just choose to hide it behind my dashing good looks and ineffable charm."

Travis smirked, patting his little brother on the head as Rachel and Katie rolled their eyes and looked away, fond smiles tugging on their lips.

"Yup, he's definitely your boy, Hermes," Apollo chuckled.

" **Excuse me?" Amanda shrieked.**

" **Look, we've spoken to some of the other survivors. We know something brought down that plane and it wasn't a mechanical failure," Sam rushed out as Amanda warily glanced over their shoulders at the closed curtain.**

 **Dean nodded, "We need your help because we need to stop it from happening again. Here.** _ **Now**_ **."**

" **I'm sorry. I- I'm** _ **very**_ **busy. I have to go back –" shaking her head, Amanda tried brushing past Dean and Liv, only to be stopped by them. Dean raised his hands, palms facing her as he tried to appear less threatening to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? But listen to me, uh… The pilot in 2485, Chuck Lambert. He's dead."**

 **Surprised, she reeled back, "Wait.** _ **What**_ **, Chuck is** _ **dead**_ **?"**

"How did she not know that? Does she live in a barn or something?" Nico scoffed. He was not in a good mood as, like his father, his entire world, for the third time, was flipped upside down.

Hazel leaned over to lightly smack Nico, "Attitude, Nico. Totally uncalled for."

"It's not like she can hear me," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, but Nico's got a point. How did she not know that? Wouldn't it have made the news?" Will inquired, confused.

Rachel hummed, "It probably didn't list off the fatalities, just mentioned that the plane crashed. The victims' loved ones and families were probably called individually and since Amanda's neither to Chuck, she never found out."

"Plus, it's her first day back," Piper pointed out.

"Not a nice welcome back, huh," Katie flippantly commented.

 **Liv nodded curtly, eyes warily taking Amanda in. "He died in a plane crash his first day back. That's two plane crashes in two months. Suspicious, no?"**

Artemis blinked at the screen, "Does this mean two months have passed in this… _episode_?"

"Beats me," Apollo shrugged.

 **When Amanda remained speechless, Sam pushed on, "Look, there was something wrong with 2485. Now maybe you sensed it, maybe you didn't. But there's something wrong with this flight, too."**

"They're wasting time trying to convince her," Clarisse snapped, concern for her half-sister at the forefront of her mind.

Aphrodite pursed her lips. "Yes, but Amanda _did_ see something, remember? She noticed the eyes. If anyone were to aid the Winchesters in their plight, it would be her."

" **Amanda, you have to believe us," Dean pleaded.**

 **Wringing her wrists, Amanda let out a sharp intake of breath, "On… on 2485, there was this man. He…had these** _ **eyes**_ **."**

 **At her confession, Liv's entire stance changed from indignation to relief. Sam let out a relieved sigh, "Yes. That's exactly what we're talking about."**

"I still don't see _how_ she can help. She's just a civilian," Clarisse adamantly uttered.

" **I don't understand, what are you asking me to do?" she inquired as she regarded them with uncertainty.**

Chris chuckled upon seeing the distasteful look grace his girlfriend's face.

" **Okay. The copilot, we need you to bring him back here," Dean informed her. When Amanda attempted to argue, he interrupted her, "We don't have time to explain. We just need you to talk to him. Okay?"**

 **Sensing Amanda's lack of confidence, Liv softly said, "Do whatever it takes. Tell him there's something broken back here, whatever gets him out of the cockpit, you do it."**

"That's actually pretty smart," Ariadne smiled.

Dionysus rolled his eyes, losing interest at the lack of action. "Yes, well, the mortal is infuriatingly dim. She'll end up killing them all at this rate."

Ares sneered upon hearing the drunken lunatic's uncalled for remark, and he could feel fire boiling under his skin.

 **Amanda gaped at them in shock, "Do you know that I could lose my job if you –"**

" **Look, Lady. I promise you, you're about to lose a lot more if you don't get out there and do as we tell you!" Liv snapped, reaching her breaking point.**

Nobody could argue that Olivia truly wasn't Ares' daughter. They were so alike, it was uncanny.

" **Please, Amanda," Dean pleaded. Hesitating, she finally nodded and once she ducked behind the curtain, Dean stared at Liv, his brows raised, "We really have to do something about that temper of yours."**

 **Liv rolled her eyes, "Zip it."**

"That's what Ares always tells me when I mention his attractive personality," Hermes smirked.

Ares surprised everyone by not retaliating, orbs hidden behind his trademark shades never wavering from the screen.

Hermes pouted, "It's not fun when he ignores us."

"Children," an exasperated Zeus muttered under his breath.

 **The camera showed Amanda from afar as she approached the cockpit and knocked on the door, and as she spoke, her words were inaudible. A moment later, the copilot exited and followed Amanda down the aisle and towards the Winchesters. Concentrating on them, Sam pulled out the holy water from his hoodie and Dean pulled out John's Journal, handing it over to Sam, who wasted no time in opening it.**

Rachel leaned forward, eyes unblinking and unwavering from the screen. "I've never seen a demon get exorcised before," she said, breathlessly.

" _None of us_ have ever seen one been done before, Crazy Town," Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"As of half an hour ago, we didn't believe they even existed," Annabeth pointed out, sounding as exasperated as Clarisse.

Rachel batted the air with her hand, "Whatever."

 **The copilot stepped behind the curtain, "Yeah, what's the problem?"**

 **Liv sprung. She bent her knees and stuck her right leg out into a straight line, using her left foot as momentum as she confidently spun around in a clockwise motion, hitting the back of the copilot's knees and tackling him to the ground. As he fell onto his back, Dean appeared and punched him in the face.**

"That's… that's sexy alright," Jason whistled, unable to hold in the compliment.

Leo salivated at the scene, "Chica's got moves!"

"That is certainly impressive," Poseidon smiled, staring at Olivia in awe.

As Olivia was being rained with compliments, Aphrodite squeezed Ares' hand and whispered, ensuring her words remained only for his ears. "Admit it, my love. Somewhere, deep inside, right here," she jabbed her finger against the side of his chest where his heart was thrumming in a soothing beat. "You're proud. Aren't you?"

Keeping his tone level and exuding nothing but apathy, Ares critiqued, "I admit myself impressed, Aphrodite, but not to the extent you are hoping for. She could do better. _Much_ better."

Sadly, the goddess of love looked away and choked back her tears, nodding weakly to her lover's words and concentrating her entire focus back onto the screen as the room slowly fell silent.

 **Dean then pinned him down and held his fist out for Liv. "Nice," he complimented with a proud grin. Liv winked, fist-bumping him before she proceeded to take out a roll of duct-tape, cutting a strip out and covering the copilot's mouth.**

"At least Dean's capable of doling out the praise that Olivia deserves," Aphrodite hissed meanly, glaring daggers at her lover, who successfully suppressed his cringe.

"Such great teamwork," Percy grinned, eyeing Annabeth with a fond smile. "Reminds me of us."

Annabeth smirked.

 **During the altercation, Amanda made her way over, hands covering her mouth in shock. "Wait. What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him."**

" **We** _ **are**_ **gonna talk to him," Dean assured her.**

" **We just chose to leave out the "after restraining him" part," Liv cheekily added, watching victoriously as Dean splashed holy water on him, prompting his skin to sizzle at the contact.**

"So that's what happens," Hades mused to himself. Despite the world-changing discovery, he found himself starving for knowledge, sharply taking in every given detail on demons.

Leo grinned, "Sick!"

Dionysus cocked his head, "Sick as in _malady_ or is it slang for teenagers these days?"

"Uh, like cool, ya know," Leo explained, his smile never wavering.

Hera massaged her temples. "Honestly!" she murmured.

 **Amanda gasped, "Oh, my God. What's wrong with him?"**

" **Look. We need you calm. We need you outside the curtain. Don't let anybody in, okay?" Sam said, cutting her off. "Can you do that?** _ **Can you do that**_ **? Amanda?"**

 **Nodding frantically, she acquiesced, "Okay. Okay." and she left.**

" **Hurry up, Sam. I don't know how much longer I can hold him," Dean grunted, trying to pin him down. Liv grinned and punched the copilot on the jaw, "Why didn't you say so?"**

Cue bouts of laughter.

Even Hephaestus was distracted from his tinkering, staring avidly at the screen as Sam started speaking Latin.

" **Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino-"**

 **But the demon broke free and punched Dean and Liv on the face before reaching over and hitting Sam on the jaw.**

Ares swallowed back his furious growl.

" **Son of a-" Liv growled, the punch barely fazing her. She jumped and tackled the demon and a second later, Dean joined her, both of them subduing him as Sam picked up where he left off. Just as they pinned him down, the demon knocked them both off of him and pulled the tape off his mouth. He leaped forward and grabbed Sam by the collar. "I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died** _ **screaming**_ **! Even now,** _ **she's burning**_ **!" he cackled, voice dark and menacing.**

"What!" Aphrodite, Persephone, Ariadne, Amphitrite, Hazel and Rachel shirked, having expected the demon to say anything _but_ that.

"Does that-… does that mean a _demon_ killed Jessica?" Percy's question startled everyone into silence.

Swallowing harshly, Hecate slowly spoke, each word weighing heavily on her tongue as they rolled off, "Jessica's death is related to Mary's and Victoria's. If that's the case then… then it means a demon murdered them as well."

The tension in the air was palpably thick that it could be cut with a knife as everyone processed the grave and morbid reality.

"But…but what did the Winchesters do, why would a demon be hounding them. It doesn't make sense," Piper cried out, her entire form shaking at the physical tension in the air.

" _Di immortales_!" Ares hissed, dragging a hand down his face.

Forgetting her previous anger with her lover, Aphrodite carefully addressed him, "Ares?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Let's, let us continue. _Now_!" he boomed when they hesitated. All Ares could think about was the first time he physically instigated conversation with Victoria Winchester, an odd interaction during their first introduction that had always plagued his mind to this very day, a sentence that had her standing out like a sore thumb in comparison to his other mortal lovers, finally making perfect sense to him.

 **Sam froze, stunned.**

 **Dean recovered, pinning the demon to the wall as Liv stood up and repetitively punched him in the face. "** _ **Sam**_ **!" Liv screamed.**

 **Snapping out of his daze, he proceeded to read the exorcism but he barely managed to finish two lines when the demon struggled out of their grip, punching Liv again in the process and kicking the book out of Sam's reach and up the aisle.**

"They should memorize the exorcism," Apollo groaned.

Connor rubbed his head, "Latin's not easy to memorize."

"Well, the same could be said about the Greek language," Jason retorted.

" **I got him," Sam yelled. Suddenly, the black cloud of smoke exited the copilot's body and disappeared into the vent above. "Where'd it go?"**

 **Catching his breath and helping Liv up, Dean said, "It's in the plane. Hurry up. We got to finish it."**

"They're not gonna die, they're not gonna die, they're not gonna die, they're not gonna die," Rachel repeated the mantra under her breath, emerald orbs widening on the screen.

Taking pity on the Oracle, Connor reached a hand out and dragged her over to his side, keeping a firm arm around her shoulders for comfort.

"If that abomination dares to enter my domain, I'll smite it!" Zeus growled, frustrated at the havoc it created in his realm.

 **Suddenly, the camera started to alternate between the interior and exterior of the plane. The plane dipped and heaved violently. A cacophony of screams and cries pervaded the air as the passengers struggled to hold onto their seats and not topple off. Sam struggled to retrieve the book as Dean splayed himself against the exit door, screaming frantically.**

Loud, choked breaths emanated from Thalia's lips; her eyes were wide and unblinking, her complexion reached a sickly pallor, and a sheen of sweat could be seen accumulating on her forehead. When Apollo made a move toward her, both Jason and Percy shook their heads, knowing that Thalia wanted to see the episode through.

"I honestly don't know whether I should be worried or laugh at Dean's hilarious reaction," Leo mumbled, receiving nods of agreement from the Stolls, Chris, Clarisse and Will.

 **Liv on the other hand, was conflicted, wide eyes flickering from Dean to Sam, silent tears streaming down her face.**

If Aphrodite sensed Ares' arms tighten around her, she didn't mention a word.

 **Squaring her shoulders, she stumbled her way over to Sam, tripping and falling in the process as she got closer and with one last herculean effort, she kicked John's Journal over to Sam. Grabbing it, he rapidly flipped through the pages and completed the exorcism.**

 **A bright electrical charge surrounded the entire plane before leveling out.**

"Reminds me of the Master Bolt," Poseidon mused out loud.

Zeus' eyes narrowed, "Hmm. It does, doesn't it…?"

 **The lights flicked back on and there were many sighs of relief. In the background, the passengers could be heard inquiring if everyone's okay and Amanda let out a relieved breath. Liv helped Sam onto his feet before she rushed over and barreled into Dean's arms.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"That was one hell of a case!" Connor breathed out.

Her complexion returning to normal, Thalia moaned, "It was horrible!"

"Very illuminating though," Poseidon commented, his eyes fixated on Zeus and Hades in particular. "We all learned something crucial from this."

Behind dark-tinted shades, Ares' eyes shuttered in relief and his arms relaxed from around Aphrodite. The love goddess herself hid her smile in Ares' chest, pretending she couldn't hear her lover's alarming heartbeat return to its regular pace.

 **The passengers from the plane could be seen disembarking toward an area milling with paramedics and uniformed agents.**

Rachel gawked at the agents, "FBI and… FAA, Holy Moly!"

 **The copilot could be seen seated in a wheelchair with a blanket wrapped around him as an FAA agent questioned him. "Sir, can you tell me what happened?"**

 **He shook his head, looking shaken, "I don't know. I was walking through the airport, then it all goes blank. I don't even remember getting on the plane."**

"Really?" Annabeth stared at the copilot with ill-veiled curiosity.

Athena shared her daughter's enthusiasm. "So this is another difference in comparison to eidolons. The body being possessed is oblivious to the demon's actions."

"Seems so," Hestia hummed.

"Unless it's optional," Apollo couldn't help but add as an idea struck him. "We won't know for sure without substantial proof, but it's possible the demon has a choice whether to allow its host to see and hear everything."

Artemis nodded in wholehearted agreement, "I agree, brother."

Hades thirst for knowledge skyrocketed.

 **Amanda was being questioned by an FBI Agent. "Anything else?" he asked.**

" **No, that's all," she succinctly responded. As the Agent walked off, she spotted the Winchesters standing across the way and, sending them a genuine smile, she mouthed "Thank you". They sent her a nod in response.**

"They truly are heroes," Artemis smiled fondly.

Cheekily, Hermes leaned forward to better gauge her reaction, "Even Dean and Sam."

Rolling her eyes and pursing her lips, Artemis responded with a curt nod. "Olivia most of all. But… yes, especially Dean and Sam. _Happy_? Not all men are mongrels," she concluded.

"I feel loved, dear niece," Poseidon chuckled, a winsome smile directed at her.

"Your charm doesn't work on me, uncle," Artemis smirked, letting out a bubble of laughter that resembled chirping birds.

Poseidon winked at her, "That's because you're special."

"There you go again," she teased, leaning back on her throne.

 **Throwing an arm over Liv's shoulder, Dean addressed her and Sam, "Let's get out of here."**

" **God yes, I need some Red Bull," Liv groaned, licking her lips. However, she barely took two steps forward before she abruptly paused, expression solemn as she turned to face Sam. "You okay, Sam?"**

 **Sam looked down at his feet, shifting from one feet to another, "It knew about Jessica."**

" **Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. All right? That's all it was," Dean postulated as he tried instilling cheer in his brother.**

"The lying part, I fully agree, but mind reading? Without proof, that's not easily believable," Percy stated.

Jason nodded, inclining his head towards Percy. "Evil lies. That's the oldest tale in the book. Mind reading? Not so much."

"Hopefully, the answers will reveal themselves," Hecate announced.

Shivering, Katie meekly said, "I'm kind of hoping they don't. I mean… I don't want them to have to face off with any more demons. And… the fact that monsters exist was scary enough, we're demigods, we're trained to fight them, but _demons_? That's an entirely different ballgame. One we're not prepared for."

"Which is why you will learn all that you can for future reference," Demeter kindly advised her daughter.

Ares grunted, "Our kids have never faced them off before. Why would they now?"

"That we _know of_ ," Athena disagreed. "Besides, your daughter _just_ faced one!"

"She doesn't count," he sneered. "She lives in a different world. She's more a hunter than a demigod."

Aphrodite threw Athena a warning glare, prompting her to put an end to the argument.

 **When Sam nodded, Dean smiled, "Come on." and the three Winchesters walked out before the screen turned black.**

"I don't know how they can be so… so _casual_ and laidback after _everything_ they just experienced!" Rachel exclaimed.

 **It was daytime, and the Winchesters were huddled around Jerry outside the airport.**

" **Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed," Jerry extended a hand, shaking Dean, Sam and Liv's hands in turn. "Your dad's gonna be real proud."**

"Dude has a point," Connor suddenly declared. "They knowingly walk into a near-death experience, searching for a needle in a haystack, airborne I might add, _and_ under crunch time to save a hundred people and they will never receive recognition."

Travis then picked up where Connor left off, ticking things off from his fingers as he spoke, "No decent pay, no home to come back to, not knowing if they're gonna live to see the next day, imitating high-ranking officials and breaking many laws in the process, all to save lives, and… _nothing_. They get chased by the cops and threatened to get tossed into jail."

"Bottom line. Their lives kinda suck," Connor concluded with an unhappy sigh.

Artemis absently nodded as Hermes' boys spoke and once they concluded their ranter, she calmly said, "While I am in agreement with you boys over the unfairness of their situation, I assure you, the opportunity of saving innocent lives and succeeding at the end of the day is gratifying enough."

"But hey," Piper randomly started to grin. "At least we know that the Winchesters can escape police custody, right? So even if they get caught, it'll never stick and they'll break out in no time."

Percy rolled his eyes halfheartedly, and sarcastically said, "Comforting, Piper."

" **We'll see you around, Jerry," Sam smiled. Liv gave him a friendly wink, "You get another case for us, don't be a stranger, eh?"**

 **Chuckling, Jerry said, "Wouldn't dream of it."**

 **As the Winchesters turned to leave, Dean hesitated, turning back to address Jerry, his face drawn in confusion, "You know, Jerry. I meant to ask you, how did you get my cellphone number, anyway? I've only had it for like six months."**

" **Your dad gave it to me," was the prompt response.**

Demeter gasped, "You mean John is ignoring his children yet answering strangers?"

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds, Demeter," Aphrodite defended, not wanting to believe the worst about the poor man.

 **Liv and Sam's jaw dropped slightly in shock. Dean pressed his lips into a firm line, "When did you talk to him?"**

 **Jerry however, shook his head. "I mean, I didn't exactly** _ **talk to him**_ **, but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call. Thanks again, guys," he beamed before turning around and heading towards the airport's entrance.**

"See," Aphrodite said in relief.

Persephone shook her head in disagreement, "Still. You would think John would spare a few minutes of his time to pick up the phone and call them, offer them some comfort or at least let them know he's safe."

The demigods seemed unbothered as they were used to being ignored by a parent, or even parents, by now.

"Seems familiar," Chris mumbled to his fellow demigods.

Percy and Nico snorted in dry humor while Travis and Connor simply looked away.

Poseidon, Hades, Hermes and Apollo stared inquiringly at the group of demigods, trying to get a read on their emotions, and comprehend the turmoil in the recess of their minds – the ugly truth: if the gods simply checked in on their children from time to time, then the entire Titan War would never have happened, lives wouldn't have been lost, and many of their fellow deceased demigods would've been around, and perhaps… just perhaps, the Giant War could've either been prevented, or ended early.

 **The camera focused on a plane with a red maple leaf on its tail fly overhead before concentrating on the Winchesters as they were congregated in front of the Impala. "This doesn't make sense, man. I've called Dad's number like** _ **fifty times**_ **. It's been out of service," Sam huffed, expression mildly hostile.**

 **Dean whipped out his phone and dialed a number. As the voice message began, he pressed on loudspeaker so that Sam and Liv could listen in. A gruff and hoarse voice permeated the air, "This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. If he cannot be reached, then call my niece, Olivia. 785-555-5287. They can help."**

"I don't understand. How can Liv have a cellphone? Technology and demigods is a deadly mix," Percy emphasized, confusion the main emotion on his visage.

Hecate cocked her head, equally astonished, "The moment Olivia speaks into a phone, she would be signaling all nearby monsters to her location. It makes absolutely no sense."

Ares grunted. "I've already told you. She's a runt; doesn't have enough ichor coursing through her veins to make her a daughter of mine. Monsters aren't interested in weaklings," he spat out.

"This I swear, Ares, one day you shall be eating your words," Poseidon warned his wayward nephew.

Apollo smirked, "And when you do, I'll be the first to tell you 'I told you so'."

A condescending snort emanated from the war god's lips. "You'll be waiting for an eternity then, Sunshine" he sneered.

 **Fuming, Sam clambered into the car, violently slamming the door shut behind him. Dean and Liv shared eye-contact for a brief moment before, with sad expressions, they dejectedly got in and the Impala drove off.**

 **The scene turned black.**

"So John _is_ ignoring their calls, then," Demeter harrumphed, her opinion in regards to the Winchester patriarch dropping considerably.

"One hell of an episode," Jason whistled. "Glad that's over."

Aphrodite turned to Ares, fully intending on forcing him to talk about his true feelings when the screen blasted on, portraying the introduction of the next episode. With a forlorn sigh, the love goddess swiveled around and focused her sad eyes on the screen.

Through his peripheral vision, Ares observed his lover's hesitance and with a barely audible exhale, he removed his shades, tucked it back into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and snaked an arm around Aphrodite's waist, sensing her form stiffen before relaxing completely against the warmth of his chest.

 **A/N:** **Whew… I am pooped! This Chapter took me an** _ **entire week**_ **to write, so I hope I did it justice considering this episode is the introduction of demons…** _ **Da Da Dum…**_ **LOL!**

 **Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the delay (and those reading my other stories, I promise I haven't abandoned** _ **any**_ **of them and I am currently getting my mojo back, XD). But in all seriousness, I lost my muse (I know,** _ **again?!**_ **) and** _ **that**_ **coupled with the fact that it's summer, I got real lazy and kept postponing, but** _ **hey**_ **I'm back and my muse is fully charged – hence, me spending a week to get this chapter up!**

 **I will admit, I am extremely nervous regarding the many reactions my faithful readers will have while reading this chapter. Two important factors were incorporated:** **One:** **The existence of Demons, which, in turn, would bring about an entire discussion in regards to there being a Hell out there, which according to Rick Riordan, it doesn't && ****Two:** **Not only do we have a** _ **(OMG they exist!?**_ **) Demon on the loose, but one running amuck in Zeus's domain: The Sky.**

 **So, yeah, I hope I did this chapter justice and didn't butcher it all up.** _ **Fingers crossed**_ **! =D**

 **A/N:** **Also, I mentioned Olivia is fluent in** _ **both**_ **Ancient and Modern Greek. I didn't make a mistake, I** _ **changed**_ **it. Greek demigods are hardwired to both. The reason is because, frankly, I couldn't find any Ancient Greek translation online, so…** _ **yeah**_ **. Bear with me.**

 **o**

 **Celebrity Faces… I got some for you and I'm gonna start with the big guns! ;)**

 **So with Ares & Poseidon out of the way (** **reference** **to Chapter 3), I got three for you Zeus, Hades & Hera:**

 **One:** **For Zeus, I was torn between Gary Barlow and Colin O'Donoghue.**

 **Why? Watching X Factor, I sense that Gary took over Simon's personality, ya know? The strict and snappy façade, which similarly reminds me of Zeus' no nonsense, can't take a joke, attitude. However, in the end, Colin O'Donoghue bears more of a resemblance to the King of Olympus with the dark hair and the oh-so-sexy electric blue eyes. (Captain Hook, anybody? *wink*wink*)**

 **In conclusion, Zeus's celebrity face is Colin O'Donoghue.**

 **Two:** **Hades… I got two words for you: LUKE EVANS!**

 **I got no explanation. This sexy specimen of the male race with those sharp cheekbones that are to** _ **die**_ **for and those dark eyes and hair….** _ **Sigh….**_

 **Three:** **Hera Angelina Jolie.**

 **No comment.**

 **o**

 **Two more subjects I want to talk about: Ares & Olivia.**

 **First, I'd like to say that Olivia's journey has barely begun.**

 **While writing this chapter, I tried to make Olivia stand out as Dean and Sam are already badass enough and I didn't want my OC to steal their thunder. I have her entire future mapped out already (at least till Season 10), one that stands out from Dean and Sam.** **However** **, I'd like to inform you from now, that** _ **sometimes**_ **, Olivia** _ **will**_ **be stealing Dean and Sam's thunder because she too is a hero and has to have a few Big Bad murders of her own, if you catch my drift…**

 **What I'm trying to say is, although Olivia didn't have a major part in this chapter, she will in the future ones. She** _ **is**_ **a demigod and that fact will be a huge plot-twister as the story goes on. We're still at the beginning where the Winchesters aren't famous yet and the demons, angels and monsters don't quake at the mere mention of their names.**

 **Ares, on the other hand: he's gonna keep denying any emotional ties he has with Olivia. It's a slow-moving story. And I want to make it realistic. I did add subtle hints that show how deep in denial he is and all that jazz, and there is a reason why he wants nothing to do with her which will come to light in due time.**

 **If anyone noticed the part I added regarding Victoria in Ares's thoughts I will give you a** **spoiler** **for the future: There will be flashbacks portraying Ares & Victoria's relationship, how they met, etcetera.**

 **Ship-name: Vares? Hmm… XD**

 **o**

 **Lastly:**

 **There are some errors I'd like to point out:**

 **No offense to Eric Kripke, but…** _ **what the hell**_ **?**

 **When** _ **Supernatural**_ **was created and introduced on-screen, I'm pretty sure the whole Azazel "The Yellow-Eyed Demon" plot had been cemented. I mean, he killed Mary, pushed Sam into hunting by fashioning Jessica's death, and staged the entire future that ended with Lucifer getting freed from the Cage, right? So… demons must've already been a hot topic, since Azazel** _ **is**_ **a demon.**

 **And yet… this episode completely butchered the concept of demons.**

 **For starters: "** _ **Christo**_ **"? Like I mentioned above, it's not even Latin for God, and this plot-idea was never used again. The Winchesters don't identify demons by saying 'God'.**

 **Another mistake: the eyes. It's not only the irises that turn black, but the** _ **entire**_ **eye! So, I fixed that in this chapter, if anybody noticed. And the final mistake: the Demon Smoke. It's not supposed to be described as a swarm of insects, but a fluid black cloud.**

 **Anyways, I caught those mistakes and fixed them in my story. Sorry for my ranting, I just wanted to clear the air.**

 **o**

 **To** _ **all**_ **my Lovely,** _ **Lovely**_ **Reviewers,** _ **thank you**_ **for all your wonderful and inspiring comments!**

 **To** **suntan140** **: I'm the type of person that doesn't like ruining the end of a story. But, I will give you a half-answer to your question – "** _ **Sam and Dean are vessels. Is Olivia going to be in the prophecy too?**_ **" All I can say regarding this topic (and I will not be expounding my answer) is that Olivia's life is fashioned around a different prophecy, one that is exclusively about her.**

 **To** **maevel** **: Wow! Your review seriously blew me away, making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! THANK YOU! Okay, so lemme see: yes, Dionysus and Crowley are too alike, it's hilarious. Honestly I just cannot wait until Crowley enters the picture because I** _ **adore**_ **him. What else can I address… Ares & Aphrodite are like endgame. I honestly adore them and I am glad you're beginning to warm up to Ares. I honestly hated Rick's representation of Ares, he made him sound weak and stupid and heartless and just a mean, old bully. I mean, the goddess of love wouldn't waste her time with Ares if he truly was a jackass with no redeeming qualities, right? The story of Ares & Victoria is an endearing yet sad one: think Titanic or The Notebook… maybe A Walk to Remember, LOL. To answer your theories: No, you're wrong on all parts, haha. **_**Way, way**_ **off-track. Ares doesn't know anything about Victoria's death as you can see in Chapter Two he was shocked upon finding out that she's been dead for** _ **sixteen years**_ **, poor guy. He hasn't had a chance to truly mourn yet as he hates showing weakness, and I cannot wait to write that! XD Hmm, you're also wrong about your Olivia/Demon Blood theory as the reason why Ares hates her. Dead wrong, =D. In fact, I'll give you a tiny spoiler: Azazel's part in Olivia's life will be unexpected and a mindboggling twister ;) that's all I am willing to say. …Thank you for the compliment BTW, I do try to make it all realistic. I didn't want to make this story a simple copy-paste with the viewers watching like freaking statues, I tried to create a personality for each of them (even if I end up making them OOC) and as the story progresses, they'll all have a part to play. I think I accidentally pushed Grover to the background in this chapter though, so I'll be fixing that in the next one. LOL.**

 **To** **bloody lilith** **: While I took longer than promised to update this story, thank you for your faith in me: I will** _ **never**_ **abandon this story, no matter how long it takes. =D! Good theory on Ares/Victoria but wrong, LOL. Like I mentioned in Chapter Two, Ares had absolutely no idea that Victoria died, sad I know. But it was a good guess. I don't know when I'll expose the reason, usually I just write and go with the flow and my muse gets carried away. Like in this chapter, I revealed Percy, Annabeth and Nico's little vacation to Tartarus when I wasn't planning on revealing that until at least after Season 2 (** _ **whoops!**_ **) so yeah. And to answer a question that really, it's quite a famous one: No, Olivia is** _ **not**_ **, I repeat, NOT, a vessel for anyone. I don't think it's possible what with Ares' ichor running through her veins, if you get what I mean, so I couldn't walk that path. Plus… I kinda feel like it's a very common plot, and I'm trying to make Olivia a unique OC. I appreciate your wonderful review, so THANK YOU and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, it's actually my longest one to date and took a lot out of me.**

 **To** **TheMarphasChappers** **: Yes Ares is in deep, deep, deep, deep,** _ **deep**_ **denial. It's hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, but he isn't Poseidon or even Hermes or Aphrodite, so I think it's more… well, Ares. He's not the type to openly show paternal love, but sooner or later, all my characters will become OOC as the episodes continue and their characters evolve. There is a genuine reason, I promise, and it's been a common question many readers posed to me, you'll just have to be patient =D. Regarding love interests I cannot wait! If you noticed, in this chapter I kinda showed a teeny weeny reaction Ares had in regards to the security guard, LOL. I had fun writing that.**

 **To** **Guest** **: "** _ **Can you make a story where the Percy Jackson people read The Game of Thrones and Daenerys is the main character**_ **" – I apologize, I am not a Game of Thrones fan, I don't see the appeal, but no offense to anyone who does, it's just my opinion. To each their own. But I'm glad you like my stories, so thank you! =D**

 **To** **MakeYourBodyaCanvas** **: Regarding Olivia and her future relationships… I've no solid answer. She will have many lovers, past and future, OCs and SPN characters, I think it's a Winchester Rite, I mean, they're just a gorgeous family! LOL. I don't see a Lucifer plot but that may change depending on my muse, nothing is written in stone yet.**

 **To** **Guest** **: "** _ **In season 2 when they meet Gabriel as the trickster will he know she is a demigod and how will the angels react to her?**_ **" – I'm sorry but that's a major spoiler, so I'm gonna have to leave you unsatisfied. SORRY! =(**

 **To** **Lululile** **: You are half-correct about Azazel. However, as I mentioned in an above review, Azazel's part in regards to Olivia will be a huge plot-twister as I am trying to make Olivia unique from the other female Winchesters I've read about. I too sympathized with Peter, but I felt bad for the Carlson kids, I mean… they had nothing to do with his death, so my sympathy ended there when he started creating unneeded death.**

 **To** **LadyScatty** **: I still have mixed feelings about Athena and Hera. I don't know if I should make them change or keep them as the bitches I believe they are. But then again, this story is all about the evolving of the characters until they become OOCs. In this chapter, I included some Athena bashing as you can see, LOL. Zeus… I'm very neutral when it comes to him, but I feel like he has potential. I, too agree with your Percy comment. Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of Annabeth, which is why I left a poll open regarding anybody that wants me to pair the characters off with someone else. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well… XD**

 **To** **head reyes** **: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying this story and sorry for the delay in updating this chapter! =D**

 **To** **jliu1128** **: A few reviewers asked me the same thing. I won't leave anything out, so I'm sorry. I'm trying to make this story stand out and be unique and by shortening it and not giving the gods and demigods credit well… it'll just be a complete 360 of the direction I want this story to go.**

 **To** **Silently Tearful** **: I am so psyched to read your compliment! Thank you so much, I hope this chapter exceeded your expectations! XD**

 **To** **Guest** **: "** _ **Will any of the supernatural characters join the gods to watch what will happen?**_ **" – No.**

 **R &R.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended**

 **A/N:** **Olivia Winchester – Victoria Justice.**

 **Chapter 5:**

Overall, the already strained atmosphere evoked by the existence of demons, surged the moment the screen brightened, and collectively, the tension skyrocketed. Truth be told, the group was nervous, wondering what the subsequent earth-shattering revelation would be. Thus far, every single _episode_ depicted a compromise in an Olympian's jurisdiction, predominantly Hades the recipient of most of the punches the Universe kept on throwing.

The Lord of the Underworld was barely given sufficient time to recover from the revelation of demons, and compartmentalize the possibility of there _actually_ being a literal _Hell_ out there, a domain never believed or even _imagined_ to have been in existence, except in mirages brought forth from devout believers that were sentenced to, and currently dwellers of, Punishment. Hades couldn't come to terms with such a discovery, and his beloved Persephone, and his ever stalwart friend, Hecate, were not the only ones alongside him that were struggling to make peace with such an unbelievable revelation. While the aforementioned three were the most attuned to dealings in the Underworld, the Olympians were all in similar states of shock and disbelief.

The startling disclosure had given Poseidon a brief respite from the shocking and _infuriating_ discovery of a haunting in his domain that resulted in not only death, but the banishment of precious Limnades. Zeus, on the other hand, _well_ … he was a different story altogether.

The King of Olympus and Lord of the Sky, while narcissistic and sanctimonious, he was under no delusions that he was a benevolent and compassionate god, despite his perpetual denials to such blatant accusations made by his siblings and, often times, his children: immortals and demigods alike. Privately, Zeus intimately knew of his faults, but like anyone else, he loathed to be impugned and have his flaws aired out in the open. At times, he was extremely selfish, paranoid, and yes, Zeus would admit that he was a hypocrite, and that was barely even the tip of the iceberg. Zeus was a proud being with many faults and many flaws, but nevertheless, he _did_ love his siblings, his wife, and his children – irregardless of his remarkable ineptitude in displaying a tender side of himself.

A notorious flaw in Zeus was his deprecating opinion and personal view of humans: they were inconsequential creatures; _weaklings_ … _sensitive_ … _prone to corruption_ … _greedy_ … and much, _much_ more. However, there were always exceptions. In spite of his tendencies to be unreasonable – a trait Poseidon gladly reminded him of on a near daily basis – Zeus was not blind, nor was he a fool. There was a certain beauty to the human race that simply drew one in, and when he wasn't in one of his moods, during his many excursions into the mortal world, he observed from afar, and sometimes closely if he happened to be in the midst of another conquest with a rather fetching mortal, and Zeus couldn't help but appreciate their fragility and will to live their short lifespan to the fullest. Admittedly, Zeus _was_ prone to alarming temper tantrums – he mentally agreed with the accursed spawn of his brother's, _Perseus Jackson!_ – many had fallen as a result of his colorful rage and inability to keep his temper in check, and throughout the millennia, a plethora of air disasters occurred and death was inevitable. _However!_ …The proof of his negligence, the horrifying fact, that a dirty _demon – of all things!_ – created bloodshed and destruction in _HIS_ domain… his ichor boiled with on overwhelming fury, and his wrath had been evoked.

"Zeus?" his beloved's soft inquiry snapped him out of his rare bout of self-deprecation, and he released his Master Bolt from his vice grip. Her gorgeous features were lined in consternation, her shrewd eyes holding his gaze in worriment, and a compassionate smile immediately lit her features, brushing away his toxic thoughts. Replacing his grip with her soft hand, their fingers intertwined, the subtle display of affection anchoring him back to the present, allowing him to behold the room at large and notice that all eyes, but Hera's, were concentrated once more on the screen.

Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, Zeus lifted her hand to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckle, a subtle show of gratitude that also meant to allay her concerns, and with a brusque nod of acknowledgement, Hera focused her gaze on the screen, ready to face the subsequent series of events the Fates had in store for them.

 **It was nighttime and the sound of girls' laughter pervaded the air of a darkened room. The only source of light came from the lit candles set on a table of which three girls were congregated around.**

 **A girl with short dark hair and matching eyes grinned childishly at her friend, "Okay, your turn, truth or dare?"**

A sudden squeal of delight emanated from Rachel's lips and she clasped her hands together, " _Oooh_! A slumber party!"

Thalia, Annabeth, Piper, Clarisse and Hazel stared blankly at the enthusiastic redhead, confused over her sudden high-spirited disposition in the face of the previous horrors and astounding revelations they witnessed.

Blinking in shock, Rachel's smile faded. "Oh, _come on_!" a hint of exasperation leaked into her crestfallen tone. "Don't tell me you've _never_ slumbered before with a couple of girlfriends?" she rhetorically inquired, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Does sharing a cabin with your half-siblings count?" Clarisse snarked, unable to tear her disbelieving eyes from the Oracle.

Going for a softer approach than the daughter of Ares, yet failing to completely mask her own exasperation, Annabeth gently reprimanded her, "Rach, we're demigods. Most of us are lucky to have even _had_ a life before making it to Camp. I, for one, never had any friends until I decided to make my way to Camp Half-Blood. I ran away at seven, _remember_?"

Athena winced at the horrifying reminder, still despondent in regards to her daughter's practically nonexistent relationship with Frederick.

"I was living in the streets and was then promptly turned into a Pine Tree," Thalia piped up, her tone bland.

It was Zeus' turn to cringe at the blatant and matter-of-fact way his daughter spoke of her horrid upbringing and near death. Jason too, stared at his older sister, expression aghast.

"I only had one friend, and I lost contact with him when my mother decided to just _up_ and _move_ our entire lives to Alaska. I died shortly after," Hazel shrugged nonchalantly, the subject no longer a sore one after she formulated profound friendships aboard the _Argo II_.

Hades grimaced and looked away.

The gods were suddenly beginning to realize how truly, to be uncouth – _shitty_ , their demigod children's lives were once they abandoned them with their mortal parents. If this was a part of the Fates' plan, then it was working.

Piper pursed her lips, grossly uncomfortable with the topic. "I never had any friends until Leo came along."

While Aphrodite tearfully gazed at her daughter in shock, the son of Hephaestus threw a friendly arm around Piper's shoulder and offered her a friendly grin. He knew all about Piper's inner turmoil; the only reason girls attempted to befriend her in the past, was solely because of her father's identity, and that was the chief reason she adamantly kept Tristan McLean a secret.

Katie cleared her throat, offering a benign smile to the sheepish redhead who looked ashamed at her lack of consideration and her damn running mouth, "I've actually had quite a few. My Dad's side of the family's real close, so most of my childhood was spent with my cousins."

A timid smile materialized on Rachel's face, "I'm sorry. I got carried away. In the heat of the moment I sometimes forget you've all led different lives than me. That you never experienced a real childhood."

Surprisingly, it was Clarisse who offered her words of comfort, "Forget it, Crazy Town. We're not mad."

The gods shifted uncomfortably in their thrones and avoided eye contact with the demigods. When out of sight, and with the Laws set in place, it was easy to forget that demigods weren't simply tools meant to run errands for the gods and fight their battles, but children cursed to never enjoy a proper childhood or rarely even make it to adulthood.

Alleviating the forlorn atmosphere, Percy, a glint of mischief in his sea-green eyes, pouted, "Why do you girls automatically assume we never had a slumber party?" He gestured towards himself and the other boys.

Katie raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, "Did you?"

"Well, no…" he trailed off, the corner of his lips pulling into a half-smirk.

"Your head is full of kelp," Annabeth sighed fondly.

Grinning, Apollo winked at Percy before he addressed the room at large, his sharp eyes having taken in the apoplectic rage on Hera's face and the telltale vein on her forehead that threatened to burst, "As entertaining as this is, how about we get back to the episode, hmm."

Sheepishly, the demigods alternated their attention to the screen.

" **Truth," a girl with brown doe-eyes and straight brown hair promptly responded.**

 **The first girl laughed, a cheeky smirk on her face, "Do you want to make out with Benji Swartz?"**

Revolted and extremely appalled, Artemis shrieked, "This is- Tis _reprehensible_! These girls are no older than twelve! They are too young to be assailed by such… _such_ _perversion_!"

Arching an eyebrow at the goddess who was the embodiment of, for all intents and purpose, everything she was not, Aphrodite matter-of-factly revealed, "Actually, Artemis. It is perfectly expected behavior. These three young ladies are at the cusp of puberty."

The Goddess of Chastity and Maidenhood, while rendered speechless, had her mouth open in a silent scream, overwhelmed with dismay. Thankfully, however, she remained silent and kept her contradicting thoughts to herself… _for once_.

Only Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Piper, Jason, Aphrodite and Apollo took note of Thalia's severe discomfort regarding the sensitive topic, unwilling to admit to her patron and future adoptive mother that she entertained romanticized and lustful thoughts of a boy when she was twelve years old.

 **Eyes wide and cheeks flushed, the girl instantly dodged the inquiry, "Dare!"**

 **Rolling her eyes, the first girl scoffed, though she acquiesced, "Okay, lame. You have to…" She trailed off, pondering an adequate dare and her expression turned sly, "Say "Bloody Mary" in the bathroom."**

The name had garnered the wine god's immediate attention, purple orbs peeking over his opened magazine.

"Bloody Mary?" Athena frowned in incomprehension.

Rachel however, bobbed her head as though the answer was obvious, "Uh-huh… Bloody Mary! It's like… _the rite_ _of passage_ for slumber parties."

"Forgive me but, isn't Bloody Mary the name bequeathed to an alcoholic cocktail?" Ariadne hesitantly inquired. As per her husband's identity, she had no choice but to be knowledgeable in the areas of his expertise.

Dionysus preened at the interesting topic and banished his magazine, his reaction prompting an irritated eye roll out of Ares, and amused smirks from Poseidon, Apollo and Hermes.

Will laughed. "It is," he assured the confused goddess.

Nearly every demigod mirrored Athena and Ariadne's confusion.

Adopting a scholarly demeanor, Rachel promptly elucidated, "It's a Legend, really. There are many versions of it, mostly about Mary being an evil spirit, yadda yadda yadda…But… _well_ , it's just a superstition, really. _Basically_ , you stand in front of a mirror and chant "Bloody Mary" three times and then see what happens." She rolled her eyes, "It's supposed to be spooky."

The color drained from Hazel's face, "Rachel… are you sure it's just a 'superstition'-" she expressed her skepticism by making quotation marks with her fingers, "-I mean, from what we've seen already, _anything_ is possible now."

Many nods of agreement met Hazel's terrified statement.

The Oracle let out a cynical scoff, "Oh, _come on_ , Haze. It's just the product of teenage girls' overactive imaginations!" When every single individual in the room didn't appear convinced, staring back at the redhead in horror, and in the gods' case, shock, she firmly groused out, " _I've_ done it before, _okay_? Believe me, if the Legend's real, then I wouldn't be here right now."

Leaning forward in his throne, Apollo observed his Oracle in an amalgamation of intrigue, concern and alarm, "You've stood in front of a mirror and chanted the name out loud. Three times…?"

Rachel nodded confidently.

"Hmm. Maybe this one really is a superstition then, folks," Apollo decided after a brief pause. However, once the attention returned to the screen, the sun god's handsome expression turned contemplative.

 **The girl rolled her eyes, "Is that the** _ **best**_ **you can come up with?"**

 **The third girl frowned and spoke up for the first time, "Who's Bloody Mary?"**

" **She's this witch," the first girl carelessly explained.**

" **I heard she was a lady killed in a car crash," the girl that was dared negated.**

"There are many versions," Rachel repeated. "The only aspect each version has in common is her name. Mary Worth."

Hecate beheld the Oracle with a pinched expression. "And you… consider this _rite of passage_ , entertaining?" she inquired in disbelief, attempting and failing to comprehend the workings of mortal girls' minds.

Rachel shrugged noncommittally, her emerald orbs shining with mischief. "What's life without imagination?" she cheekily retorted.

Apollo and Hermes burst into laughter, and even Poseidon chuckled lightly at the Oracle's cheek.

The demigods rolled their eyes fondly at Rachel's… _Rachel-esque_ behavior. … ' _Typical Rach,_ ' simultaneously reverberated in their heads.

 **The first girl impatiently shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Point is, if you say her name three times in the bathroom mirror she appears…** _ **and scratches your eyes out**_ **!" she spookily cried out in an ominous tone, causing the other two girls to jump in fright.**

Rachel rolled her eyes, "She's milking it."

"More like she's enjoying freaking her friends out," Hazel murmured in evident distaste.

" **So why would anyone say it?" the second girl asked in a shaky tone.**

 **The girl that had been dared scoffed and waved a hand absentmindedly into the air. "Because it isn't real," she pointedly exclaimed. She then got up to her feet and accepted the offered candle from the first girl, who emphatically reminded her, "** _ **No**_ **turning on the lights, and remember…** _ **three times**_ **."**

"Suddenly, I've got a _very_ bad feeling," Leo squeaked, curling into Piper's side.

"It's _not_ real, Leo," Rachel huffed, adamantly folding her arms together.

Leo gaped at her. "I think your Oracle vibes, or intuition, or whatever you call it, has gone faulty, Rachel."

"Oh yeah?!" Rachel scowled, moving to get onto her feet, only for Connor's hand to automatically reach out and pull her down. "Then explain how I haven't been scarred for life? I'm telling you, I've done it before, and _nothing_ happened. It was _soo_ anticlimactic," she snapped, recalling her friends' disappointment two years back when _absolutely nothing_ _happened_.

Percy shrugged, "Luck?"

"Enough!" Hera snapped, glowering at the Oracle. "I grow weary of your childish dispute. Whether the Legend is real or fake, it _doesn't_ matter. Now quit squabbling over inconsequential matters and _watch_!" she rebuked, for once not sounding rude but the way an exasperated mother would chide her children for misbehaving.

Sticking her tongue out at Leo and Percy, both of whom impassively stared back at her, Rachel aggressively turned her back on them and faced the screen, her shocking red hair viciously whipping in the air and nearly smacking Connor and Clarisse in the face, since they sat on either side of her.

 **The scene shifted from the darkened living room to the bathroom door as the girl hesitantly opened it. Her doe-eyes briefly studied the shadows on the wall as she slowly closed the door and set the candle down in front of the mirror.**

"Contrary to her previous statement and the confidence she exuded to her friends, she appears to be frightened," Triton remarked.

"It's a spooky process," Rachel hastily defended. For some reason, she was taking the entire matter personally.

 **Her eyes collided with her reflection, "Bloody Mary. This is so** _ **stupid**_ **." Huffing, she shook her head and squared her shoulders before blurting out, "Bloody Mary." She paused once more when the candle flickered. "Bloody Mary." Another pause.**

 **A loud noise echoed from outside, prompting her to shriek in fright. There was a pounding on the door and the camera subsequently shifted to the hallway, showing the other two girls standing on the other side of the bathroom door, laughing loudly when the girl swung it open from the inside.**

" **Scared ya!" the first girl giggled.**

" _See_! What did I tell you…Anticlimactic," Rachel observed her friends with an unhealthy dose of arrogance.

Nico glowered at her. "Not to burst your bubble, Rachel," his tone contradicted his words, portraying that he really _did_ want to burst her bubble. "But from what we've seen 'til now, something bad _always_ happens in the beginning. An incident that alludes to whatever evil the Winchesters will be hunting. My money's on Bloody Mary turning out to be real."

The Oracle's expression dropped considerably, her confidence wavering. "Look, normally I'd agree. I mean, I sensed the exact same thing with the lake haunting and the plane crash, but… the difference is, I _have_ experience with this! Everything that girl did? I did. Two years ago. With my friends. We _all_ repeated the process. _Verbatim_. And _nothing._ _happened_. _Nada_. _Zilch_! So… explain that?"

"And that doesn't add up," Frank mollified her. "But you can't deny that Nico has a point as well."

"Perhaps… if we watch, a sufficient explanation shall be provided," Hestia, her warm eyes depicting kindness, softly interjected before a full-blown argument could occur.

 **The girl didn't look amused, "You guys are** _ **jerks**_ **!"**

" **Lily!" a male's voice reverberated from the top of the stairs. The girl that was dared – Lily, looked up, her indignant expression turning sheepish in an instant at the sight of the older man. "You mind keeping it down?"**

" **Sorry, Daddy," Lily apologized. The other two girls simultaneously chanted, "Sorry, Mr. Shoemaker."**

"For some reason, Santa's elves suddenly come to mind," Leo murmured to Jason and Piper, both of whom shook their head fondly, eyes twinkling in amusement.

Ares let out a long-winded sigh, uninterested in the chick flick he was forced to endure.

 **An eerie piercing nose echoed from the screen as Mr. Shoemaker crossed the hallway and made it to his room, and as he passed several mirrors, unseen to him, a shadow of a woman, her pale face barely visible due to the matted curtain of dark hair, flickered through each one.**

" _Oh my GOD_!" Rachel screamed, hastily scrambling backwards in a desperate attempt to create distance between her and the screen, only to be held in place by Connor, who had immediately wrapped an arm around her in what he hoped to be a comforting embrace. Tears rapidly streamed down the redhead's face, her eyes wide with unadulterated horror as the proof smacked her in the face. "It's, it's… _she's_ real! Oh gods, oh my GOD!" she hysterically shrieked, the reality scaring the living lights out of her.

The gods looked disturbed at the realization that there was a huge probability that every legend wasn't in fact, a _mere_ legend.

Apollo grimaced, feeling sympathy for his Oracle. He understood that no amount of words would make her feel better; Rachel mocked a dangerous legend, claiming it to be a superstition, and ultimately played the game, not knowing that in the process, she luckily escaped death.

"Rachel, it's okay. You're here, you're okay," Connor soothed her, tenderly stroking her back. In response, she buried her face in his neck, her body shaking with inaudible sobs.

 **In the upstairs bathroom, Mr. Shoemaker stood in front of the open medicine cabinet, taking out a few pills. He closed the cabinet, revealing another mirror and promptly popped the pills in his mouth. The beginning of a frown etched on his forehead as he did a double take, and as he looked closer at the mirror, a few scratches were noticeable under his eyes.**

"Didn't that girl say Bloody Mary appears in the mirror and scratches your eyes out?" Grover inquired in a shaky voice.

In affirmative, a loud sob escaped Rachel's mouth, one bloodshot emerald eye the Oracle's only visible feature as her entire face, curtained by her hair, was buried in Connor's neck.

Clarisse grimaced while placing a few tentative pats on Rachel's back, the compassionate gesture seemingly painful for the daughter of Ares to advertise in a public setting.

 **The scene alternated to the gigging girls. "You** _ **so**_ **like him!" the second girl good-naturedly accused Lily. At that moment, the front door opened and an older girl with a pixie haircut and brown eyes walked in. "Hey, geek. You guys having fun?" she grinned at Lily.**

The goddess of love considered the newcomer with appraising eyes, "The daring haircut compliments her round face structure and sharp cheekbones."

Artemis and Athena aggressively rolled their eyes in tandem.

"Your flattering remarks are _not_ appurtenant to the current situation, Aphrodite," Demeter softly informed the love goddess before the aforementioned virgin goddesses could initiate a verbal spat that would most likely end with screaming, viciously hurled insults, and most probably, in the worst case scenario, weapons being drawn if Ares felt his lover was threatened.

"Definitely not!" Artemis spat, silver eyes narrowed.

With an inaudible groan, Apollo settled a firm hand on his twin's forearm, subtly warning her to maintain silence.

"Don't be ridiculous," Aphrodite tittered, waving a hand overhead. "It's never a bad time to hand out compliments to those I believe to be worthy." She then sent a clandestine wink over to Poseidon, Apollo and Hermes, the three of whom always appreciated the love goddess' ability to create mischief and her ineffable talent to rile Athena and Artemis, and occasionally, Hera, up.

A deep chuckle vibrated through Aphrodite and she tore her gaze from the three smirking gods, who appreciated her unique brand of humor, and the two fuming goddesses, who _didn't_ , to squarely meet her lover's fond gaze. Ares too, enjoyed Aphrodite's flair for mischief and he tightened his hold around her svelte waist, her warmth and current exuberance successfully chipping away his irritation and boredom evoked by the chick flick onscreen.

Demeter smirked at Athena and Artemis, both of whom were burning a hole through Aphrodite's head. She found it to be a pity when Aphrodite's wit went underappreciated. While the love goddess, at times, managed to evoke her ire, it never reached the same level as Artemis, Athena, Hera, and at times, depending on her mood mostly, Amphitrite, as the Queen of the Sea had moments of relapse where she envied her husband's close friendship with Aphrodite, a friendship that once concluded with the procreation of a baby.

" **You're out past curfew," Lily pointed out.**

 **The newcomer threw her a deadpanned look and sarcastically said, "Thanks,** _ **Dad**_ **."**

"Sisters," Travis and Connor revealed in a monotone, almost immediately recognizing the sibling banter for what it was. They then grinned at each other, " _Jinx_!"

They sighed, " _Jinx_!"

Exasperated, the brothers parted their lips to repeat their previous exclamation, hoping for triumph, when Chris interjected, "Trav, Con, zip it."

Confused at their half-brother's tone, the Stolls cocked their heads at him, only to see Chris' eyes solemnly focused on Rachel, who remained silently crying in the crook between Connor's neck and shoulder, obviously on tenterhooks. Grimacing, Travis looked away and stayed silent while Connor apologetically rubbed the Oracle's back.

The demigods knew that Rachel was painfully waiting for the repercussions of the 'apparent' superstition, and the Stolls' brotherly banter was simply delaying the inevitable and therefore, making the Oracle on edge.

"Sorry, Rach," the Stolls apologized in unison, not bothering to exclaim " _jinx!_ "

 **She then left the three girls and ascended the staircase.**

 **The camera abruptly homed in on a pool of crimson leaking out into the hallway from the bathroom door, followed by the girl's footsteps pausing as she rounded the corner. She stopped at the sight and slowly inched towards the bathroom door, hesitantly clasping the doorknob and opening it. There was a great deal more blood and the camera quickly shifted to the girl, a look of horror plastered on her face as she screamed.**

 **The screen turned black.**

"He's dead. Isn't-isn't he?" Rachel tremulously voiced out, allowing both bloodshot eyes to be visible.

"Rach-" Percy attempted to speak, only for the hysterical Oracle to shriek, " _ISN'T HE_?!"

Complete silence met her statement.

The stubborn silence only managed to further escalate the redhead's hysteria.

Haughtily, Athena threw Rachel a disapproving glare as she addressed the sun god, "Apollo, do calm your Oracle-"

A collective wince from every demigod and the lone satyr met her words, and even Apollo shot her a look of incredulity.

"CALM DOWN!?" Rachel resembled a raging rhinoceros and she exhaled roughly through her nostrils like a dragon would. "First of all, _don't_ talk about me like I'm not here. Second of all, for a goddess of wisdom, how _fucking_ stupid are you-"

Athena jumped to her feet, "YOU DARE-"

"I'M NOT FINISHED!" Rachel screeched.

Ares, Aphrodite and Poseidon greatly resembled the cat that caught the canary, Cheshire grins overtaking their gorgeous features, reveling in the blatant disrespect aimed towards their rival, and relishing in the Oracle's recalcitrance, coupled with the litany of abasing words that Athena rarely found herself on the receiving end of.

"Just because you're an immortal, all-powerful god, it doesn't make you above compassion!" Rachel spat out, shoving off the many hands of her friends that attempted to hold her back and ground her. "I've been through that! Don't you get it?!" she wildly pointed at the black screen. "She said 'Bloody Mary', three times, in front of a mirror. The superstition turned out to be REAL! And her father _died_! He DIED! Bloody Mary KILLED HIM! I'm not only in shock, I'm terrified to death. I could have DIED! But of course," she suddenly snorted, panicked shrieks giving way to a boatload of sarcasm. "You're a freaking Olympian. Athena, the goddess of _wisdom_. You're untouchable, above death and mortal fears, _right_?!"

"Rachel!" Apollo boomed, and despite the volume of his voice, his tone was kind and soothing. "That's enough. Athena's merely insensitive. Don't waste your breath on her. She isn't worth it."

Aghast, Athena glowered at her half-brother, " _How dare you_!"

"How dare _you_!" Apollo hissed, a sneer matching his acidic retort. His blazing orbs watched with approval as the demigods embraced and attempted to help calm his hysterically sobbing Oracle before they once again collided with Athena's apoplectic glare. "You should know by now that I don't take kindly to _anyone_ , not even Artemis or Dad or Uncle P, demeaning my Oracles. I'm very protective of them, especially now with the curse broken." Hades subtly shifted in his seat. "This is a traumatizing event for Rachel to bear witness to. She could've been in the mortal man's place if it weren't for sheer luck. If you find yourself incapable of showing a modicum of compassion, Athena, then next time, try keeping your mouth firmly _shut_ , it'll save us all from your acidic tongue and haughty remarks, and save us a lot of trouble."

Annabeth covered her face, mortified. She felt like this version of her mother was a stranger in comparison to the mother she met in the future. She didn't dare allow her thoughts to go to a dangerous place: that her mother had _always_ been this way, and that she was too blind and biased to see it. …There must have been a sensible reason why the Athena Cabin alone stood by Zeus while all the others backed up Poseidon during the Master Bolt's theft scrimmage.

' _Athena is one of the most unfavorable Olympians,'_ she desolately concluded, burying her face in Percy's muscular chest.

Affronted beyond words, Athena whipped around to glare at her father, awaiting his staunch support , only to be rendered speechless once more. First he defended _Ares_ – of all people! _Ares_ , over _her_ – his _favorite_ child. And now? _NOW_ , he allows Apollo to disrespect her, all for a _mortal_!

"Father!" she exclaimed in surprise and hurt.

Zeus awkwardly cleared his throat and apathetically disclosed, "Athena, the last time I came between Apollo and his Oracle, it didn't end well. Do not start a fight you dare not wish to finish."

The remaining Olympians – sans Zeus and Athena – Hades, Persephone and Hecate snorted.

"Didn't end well? _That_ is the understatement of the century, brother," Hades drawled in an oily tone.

Apollo scowled at his uncle, "You would know, as you're the one that cursed Delilah!"

"I had _every_ _right_ , nephew. Don't _challenge_ me!"

Not missing a beat, the sun god heatedly retorted, "You _used_ her as an outlet for your rage!"

Perhaps it was the demigods' imagination, but the light in the Throne Room warred between blinding and blazing light and oppressing and suffocating darkness as the shouting match dangerously escalated between the God of the Sun and Light and the God of the Underworld who had absolute control over shadows and darkness. It did prove however, to be a sufficient distraction for Rachel, her vicious sobs ceased.

Hades stood up, Persephone and Hecate's harried efforts to assuage his temper wasted. "I will not stand for such an accusation!"

"It's not an accusation if it's the truth," Apollo scoffed, getting onto his feet as well.

Artemis reached over to pull him back onto his throne, only to loudly hiss as the tactile contact burned her hand. Her silver orbs widened in alarm at her brother's blazing temperature as it depicted the severity of the situation.

Blinded to his surroundings and to the fact that he unintentionally harmed his twin sister, Apollo fervently continued. "You fail to realize this, but _every time_ , every _damn_ time, you and Dad and Uncle P get into another one of your famed arguments, those surrounding you end up collateral damage. You took out your wrath on Delilah, an innocent, a victim, who had absolutely _no control_ over the prophecies that came to her!"

"Apollo. _Brother_! Stop, please!" Artemis beseeched.

" _Hades_! _Apollo_!" Zeus yelled.

Ares on the other hand, looking like World War III had finally arrived. He was gleefully rubbing his hands together and leaned forward, not wishing to miss a second of the fight, "Now that's what I'm talking about. Finally some entertainment around here." Aphrodite's disapproving smack to his bicep was adamantly ignored.

Nobody could get through to the two furious gods as they proceeded with their bickering, unwittingly manipulating the shadows and the lights in the room that was responding to their masters' emotions.

"Holy Hades," Will whispered for only his fellow demigods, a slit-eyed Grover, and a speechless Rachel to hear.

Nico muttered under his breath, "This is not good. This is not good at all."

"ENOUGH!" Hestia screamed, silencing not only all the gods' fruitless endeavors to get through to the two irate gods, but successfully banishing the shadows and the lights and engulfing the room in pitch-darkness and absolute silence. With a snap of her fingers, Hestia lit the hearth, allowing a calming orange-yellow glow into the room. She then stared with unblinking eyes at her brother and nephew, her warm brown eyes now stark red. "I am ashamed at this appalling behavior," her voice was dangerously calm, an indication to how furious she was. "Bickering amongst yourselves, losing control over your powers, setting a bad example to the children! _Disgusting_! You are arguing about the past. We are in the present. Let it go. Move on. And if you cannot, then argue like civilized people and _not_ Neanderthals!" she hissed.

The sun god lowered his gaze and his head hung, ashamed. The Lord of the Underworld however, avoided his eldest sibling's disappointed gaze.

Composing themselves, the aforementioned chastised gods solemnly uttered a hasty apology before returning to their respective throne.

Disregarding the awkward and overwhelming silence that blanket the Throne Room and the many pairs of eyes solely gazing at him, Apollo turned to his sister and tenderly took her hand, staring at the porcelain skin almost mournfully. "Sorry, Artemis. I lost control, I never meant to hurt you." He sounded so sincere and forlorn, and the fact that he neglected to call her 'sis' or 'Artie' was a huge indicator to how contrite her brother was. Artemis squeezed his hand in response and offered him a comforting smile, "I know, Apollo. Do not fret. I know you would _never_ purposely harm me."

Athena was hit with the sudden realization _why_ her father did not desire to approach such a sensitive topic when it came to Apollo. He was steadfastly loyal to, defensive of, and _extremely_ overprotective of his Oracles. ' _Lesson learned._ '

 **The scene opened and was tinted blue.**

 **Sam was lounged on a bed with his eyes closed. Drops of crimson splattered on his forehead. In an instant, his eyes snapped open, only to stare horrified at Jessica, who was pinned to the ceiling, blood pooling in her stomach.**

Frank groaned to himself, "Another dream."

"You mean, another _nightmare_ ," Jason refuted, an ugly grimace on his handsome features.

 **Jessica stared right at him and said, "Why, Sam? Why, Sam?" before she spontaneously burst into flames.**

" _ **No**_ **!" Sam yelled, agitated. But as Jessica burned, her voice continued to echo around the room, "Why, Sam? Why, Sam?"**

"He's reliving Jessica's death. The explicit accusation signifies a guilty conscious," Apollo tersely elaborated

The atmosphere still held an intimidating and tense aura and for that reason, the demigods, most especially Annabeth, curbed their curiosity. Annabeth however, never believed she would ever be thankful for the love goddess as she voiced out her exact thoughts and fed her insatiable curiosity.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

Clearing his throat, the sun god – after receiving an encouraging smile from Hestia – smiled slightly and elucidated, "Dreams are the reflections of emotional preoccupations when we're awake and conscious. All latent feelings, thoughts, desires… they manifest during the unconscious state, revealing themselves through dreams. For example, if someone were to accidentally murder somebody and cover up their involvement, they would be plagued with guilt, depending if that person had morals. However, if that person so chooses to bury the event and pretend it never happened, they won't be able to escape their guilt when they succumb to sleep. The event would replay in their dreams, not letting them escape their guilt, a constant reminder that reflects the inner turmoil."

Aphrodite adopted a pinched expression, "How morbid of you, Apollo."

The sun god rolled his eyes, though his lips quirked into a more genuine smile, "Fine. This one's more up your alley, then. Let's say a girl has a crush on the captain of the soccer team." Aphrodite perked up and flashed Apollo a dazzling smile, prompting eye rolls out of Artemis, Athena and Hera. "It's a closely guarded secret and she tries acting normal around him. But while she's in an unconscious state, all her dreams revolve around him. She suppresses her emotions when she's awake, only to be plagued by them in her dreams."

Leaning forward and sensing the oppressing ambience had finally dissolved, Annabeth gaze at the God of Knowledge with admiration and intrigue. "So, how does Sam's dream indicate a guilty conscience?" she blurted out.

Athena frowned, envious at the palpable respect and admiration her daughter held for the perpetual bachelor and womanizer extraordinaire.

Smiling jovially at Annabeth's enthusiasm, the sun god promptly explained, "Well for starters, Jessica's choice of words is a huge giveaway. Sam replayed her death, meaning during his conscious state, he cannot let go of not only Jessica's death, but the _way_ she died. _That_ , coupled with her words…she adopted an accusatory tone. 'Why, Sam?' Either Sam blames himself for not being able to prevent her death, for not being there. _Or_ , because she got involved with him and ended up dying just like his mother and aunt. The entire dream heavily implies Sam believes he could have prevented Jessica from dying. I'm only having a trouble over the 'why'. _Why_ is he obsessing over the fact that he could have prevented her death?"

"Amazing," Thalia breathed out. Shaking her head, she smiled sheepishly at her half-brother, "I'm sorry. But I keep forgetting you're the god of knowledge."

Fondly, Artemis rolled her eyes. "He has his moments," she teased.

Athena harrumphed, but one short warning glare from Hestia garnered her silence.

The war god grunted, "Her death couldn't be prevented. The perpetrator not only remained unseen, but proved to be spontaneous. Three times the perpetrator attacked, and each time there was a substantial gap in years." Finding himself on the receiving end of incredulous looks, he growled, "It's called strategy. This is all planned."

Little did Ares know, the incredulous looks weren't a response of the fact that he said something smart, or even because he participated in the conversation, but because of his capability of detaching himself and portraying utter apathy in regards to Victoria Winchester's brutal death.

 **The scene shifted to the interior of the Impala, the conjoined voices of Dean and Liv prodding Sam awake. "Sam, wake up." "Sammy! Wake up, Sam." concern seeped into Dean and Liv's respective voices.**

 **Startled, Sam, who sat shotgun, jerked forward, eyes opened and confused. Looking around, he stared at a large building the Impala was parked in front of, and he sighed, "I take it I was having a nightmare."**

" **What makes you say that, Sherlock?" Liv grinned in an attempt to alleviate the tension, which worked, as Sam offered her a small smile. Dean, however, fondly rolled his eyes at her.**

Aphrodite smiled fondly, never tiring of Olivia's constant use of humor, sarcasm and snark.

"She has a habit of getting under your skin, huh?" Hermes grinned widely.

Poseidon chuckled in affirmative, "In a good way, of course."

"Naturally," Hermes quickly nodded in agreement.

Ares grinded his teeth and clenched his fists, irritated beyond belief at his family's overreaction of the simplest things. He didn't appreciate their constant coddling of the runt, even from afar.

" **At least I got some sleep," Sam justified.**

 **Dean rolled his eyes again, unamused as he focused his concerned eyes on his little brother, "You know, sooner or later, we're gonna have to talk about this."**

Hera inclined her head towards the screen. "He's right. The more Samuel bottles up his emotion, the more they fester. It could prove destructive," she clucked her tongue in true mother-hen fashion.

 **Sam shot him a glare, "The day I decide to** _ **talk**_ _ **about this**_ **, is the day Liv decides to talk about** _ **her**_ **nightmares."**

 **Liv, who had been in the middle of bunching up her long, thick curls to tie into a high ponytail, paused to glower at Sam. "** _ **One**_ **, that'll happen in…oh, about around never o'clock.** _ **Two**_ **, leave me out of your argument of the day," she huffed, smoothly tying her hair up.**

"Never o'clock," Leo chortled.

Connor sniggered, "Argument of the day. _Hah_!"

"Priceless," Travis smirked.

Hera remained unamused, "Both Samuel _and_ Olivia must learn to stop avoiding their problems!"

"I concur," Ariadne commiserated. "This is such unhealthy behavior."

Dionysus rolled his eyes, his face buried in his magazine. "Who cares," he mumbled, Ares absently nodding in wholehearted agreement.

Aphrodite, Ariadne and Hera glowered in response, eyes narrowed into slits.

 **Sam hastened to change the subject, "Are we here?"**

" **Yup. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio," Dean stated, leaning languidly in the driver's seat and smirking over at Liv, who grumbled, "It was a bitch getting here. Dean outright** _ **refused**_ **to stop for coffee."**

Piper gasped in genuine outrage, "That's inhumane! There's _always_ time for coffee!"

Jason chuckled and patted her arm.

She whipped around to face him, her expression solemn, "Are you mocking me? I'm _dead_ serious, Jase!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Jason cooed, raising both hands, palms out, in a placating gesture. "I'm not foolish enough to get in between you and coffee, babe."

The daughter of Aphrodite's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing his sincerity for a brief moment, before she finally nodded in acceptance.

"Smart boyfriend you've got there, Piper," Annabeth remarked pointedly.

Recognizing the subtle attack on his person, Percy frowned and his lips turned into a confused pout, " _Hey_! What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," she vaguely replied.

"Didn't sound like 'nothing'. Sounded like you were insinuating something," Percy instantly refuted.

Thalia smirked, unable to let the gift-wrapped comment pass without unwrapping it, "Insinuating? Extending your vocabulary now, eh, Seaweed Brain?"

Not sparing his snarky cousin a split-second glance, Percy, his eyes never wavering from Annabeth's, snapped, "Shut up, Pinecone Face."

"Just saying, you _always_ mock my coffee preference," Annabeth revealed with an adorable pout.

Percy stared at her, mouth agape, before he indignantly put in, "Seriously? All I ever said, was that I can't believe you drink coffee black. That's all."

"Well, the-, well then…" Annabeth spluttered, looking as though she were pulling words out of thin air, much to her friends and a few gods' amusement. "Next time act more like Jason."

Not missing a beat, Percy shot back, "Maybe you should date Jason if you like him that much!"

Much to Annabeth and Jason's surprise, Piper piped up, "I'm game. We could do like a, like a boyfriend swap. I date Percy and you date Jason!"

" _NO_!" Annabeth and Jason frantically yelled out, identical expressions of horror on their faces.

Suddenly, Percy and Piper burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, and they leaned forward to exchange high-fives, much to their respective other's disdain.

Eyes narrowed, Jason grouchily stated, "You planned this."

"When did you have time to plan this? You _literally_ didn't even _look_ at each other," Annabeth suspiciously voiced out, calculating eyes flickering between Percy and Piper.

Winking at Piper, Percy gathered an indignant Annabeth in his strong arms and cryptically yet good-naturedly said, "We're just that good."

"That was entertaining," Hermes chuckled.

Hera's face screamed the opposite, as did Athena's, who was burning a hole through Poseidon's spawn. "Why are they touching and sitting so close to each other? And what did Aphrodite's child mean by 'boyfriend'?!" she demanded.

A plethora of wide eyes connected. While they wanted to be around Athena when she finally connected the dots and realized her daughter was in a romantic relationship with the son of her most hated rival, they were currently in no mood to tolerate her incessant shrieks of outrage. So, instead, Poseidon hastened to change the topic, "Let us proceed, yes?"

Throwing him one last suspicious glare, Athena sunk back into her throne and her shrewd eyes adopted a calculating glint as she began speculating most of the Olympians' odd behavior, not to forget Poseidon's quite _obvious_ attempt to divert her inquiry.

" **A case came up. Had to beat traffic," was Dean's offhanded excuse.**

 **Liv's glare turned heated. "** _ **Right**_ **," she sarcastically drawled. "And if I end up accidentally stabbing myself because you neglected to make a coffee run, what's your excuse gonna be, genius?"**

"She makes a valid point," Piper solemnly uttered.

Hazel stifled her giggles, especially when Jason hastened to bob his head in agreement, lest he evoked his girlfriend's ire.

" **That you got sucky aim," Dean retorted with a teasing smile.**

"Oooh! _Burn_!" the Stolls crowed.

Leo looked offended at the insult Dean hurled at his latest crush.

" **I got perfect aim and you damn well know it," Liv snapped, glaring daggers at him.**

Aphrodite let out a stream of mellifluous laughter, "Oh, Dean and Olivia's banter strongly remind me of Apollo and Artemis when they get into it."

The twin archers sucked a sharp breath in obvious disagreement.

Hermes grinned, "Except without drawing weapons."

"I never use weapons against Artie. Just my creative mouth," Apollo winked.

Artemis glowered. "No. Hermes was referring to me. And _don't. Call. Me. Artie_!" she hissed, her hand twitching for her handy dagger, and therefore, proving Hermes right.

"Their banter do bring me joy," Persephone sighed almost wistfully at the screen.

Ares looked grouchier than ever.

"If you grit your teeth any harder, darling, they'll fall out," Aphrodite snarked, her eyes glittering with amusement.

" **Case? What case?" Sam intervened, putting an end to the other two's dispute. In response, Dean's chin jutted towards the newspaper on the dashboard. Sam grabbed it, the newspaper already opened on the obituary section and the name 'Steven Shoemaker' was circled with a black marker.**

A cacophony of groans pervaded the air as the demigods swiftly rubbed their eyes in unison, having attempted and failed to successfully make out most of the tiny-printed words.

Frank grinned almost guiltily as he read aloud for his friends and girlfriend, "The Shoemaker family is sad to announce the sudden death of their beloved husband and father Steven Shoemaker. Steven was 46. A short service will be held on Wednesday the 31st at 2:00 p.m. … _aanndd_ the rest is unintelligible. I can't make out the words."

"I hate you," Annabeth half-heartedly complained. She didn't think she'd ever stop feeling envious over the fact that Frank wasn't dyslexic.

"Sorry?" Frank sounded uncertain though his eyes shone with humor.

Kate huffed, "So with Annabeth on this one. We _all_ hate you."

"I don't," Hazel piped up, smiling fondly up at her boyfriend.

Clarisse waved a hand and grunted, "You're biased. You're not part of the equation."

' _If only the gods were more like their offspring,'_ was the forlorn thoughts that reverberated in Hestia's head as she gazed fondly at the children, profoundly astonished by their close bonds and the complete _lack_ of animosity between one another.

" **So what do you think really happened to this guy?" Sam inquired, eyes flickering from Dean to Liv.**

"Funny you should ask. He had his eyes gouged out by a so-called superstition," Travis nonchalantly drawled with a quick eye roll.

A whimper could be heard coming from the curled up bundle that has been almost religiously plastered to Connor's left side since Mr. Shoemaker walked into the bathroom. Subsequently, Connor threw his big brother a deadpanned glare that screamed ' _really?_ '

Lips pursed tightly, Travis looked apologetic, "Sorry, Rach."

Two bloodshot emeralds connected with his sorrowful blues and she gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Wow. Who'd have guessed _Connor_ would have more sense than you, Trav," Katie snorted, infusing humor in an effort to get a bigger smile out of the Oracle. Sadness didn't suit her.

The daughter of Zeus winked at the daughter of Demeter, instantly catching on. "I guess the roles have been reversed," Thalia teased.

The Stolls' jaw dropped almost comically, and in unison, they cried out, " _OI_!"

"Was that a backhanded compliment?" Connor inquired, just as Travis indignantly claimed, "A guy's allowed to slip up every once in a while, thank you very much."

A short giggle emanated from Rachel's lips, her bloodshot orbs twinkling with a smidge of humor and Katie and Thalia grinned to themselves – ' _mission accomplished_.'

Allowing Katie to snuggle into his side, Travis rested his cheek on the crown of her head and whispered, "You cheeky little minx." before kissing her forehead. Katie blinked up at him innocently, her cheeks tinged a subtle pink.

The love goddess could no longer restrain her squeal, eyes shining at the couple, "Aren't they just _adorable_?!"

Demeter smiled fondly. ' _At least he's not a spawn of Hades,_ " she thought to herself.

 **His hand on the interior door handle, Dean said, "That's what we're gonna find out. Let's go." He inclined his head to the other two and clambered out. The three Winchesters then headed into the building.**

"Oh, gods," Will gawked at the screen once it provided him with the Winchesters' destination.

Intrigued, Apollo arched a brow, "Huh… This is a new one."

 **Dean, Sam and Liv stood before a door labeled 'Morgue', and walked in, exuding utter confidence, their faces a professional mask. Inside, there were two desks, one of them was empty, a nameplate sitting on it. Liv blinked furiously at it before shaking her head and turning away, a genial smile on her face.**

Even Grover, Frank and Rachel had a hard time pronouncing the name, their heads tilting from right to left, blinking in the process. When that didn't work, the trio unconsciously leaned forward, mouthing out the first letters.

Deciding to end their misery, Poseidon chuckled lightly and clearly enunciated, "Doctor D. _Feik_ -low- _icz_." The 'feik' sounded like ' _feigh_ ' and the 'icz' like ' _ysh_ ', much to the teenagers' confusion, all of whom blinked at the sea god with their mouths agape.

"I'm not dyslexic, and even _I_ had a problem reading that," Frank murmured, prompting Hazel to pat his arm, consolingly.

"Welcome to our world," Clarisse smirked at her Roman half-brother.

" **Hey. Can I help you?" the morgue tech sitting on the second desk addressed the trio.**

 **Clearing his throat, Dean approached him with a hesitant smile, "Yeah. We're the, uh…med students."**

Hermes tutted in disapproval, his sons' expressions mirroring his. "Dean slipped up. Don't stutter. Don't hesitate. If you act confident, you can sell nearly any lie…within limits," he hastened to add upon noticing the demigods hanging onto his every word and their respective parent throwing him censuring looks.

"You're corrupting our children, Hermes," Demeter huffed, sounding more resigned than irritated.

Sheepishly, Percy stuck up for Hermes, "Actually, you'd be surprised how many times lying is necessary for demigods on quests."

Every word that emanated from Percy's lips was accompanied by an automatic nod from Hermes. "Exactly… _See_! I'm blessing them with tricks of the trade. It'll very well save their lives. No corrupting done," he smirked cheekily, prompting an exasperated eye roll from Zeus, a contemptuous sneer from Athena, and an identical smirk from Apollo.

" _Idiots_ …" Dionysus murmured, casually flipping a page whilst taking a sip of Diet Cola.

" **Sorry?" the morgue tech blinked in surprise.**

 **Elaborating, Dean stumbled over the doctor's name, "Oh, Doctor Figlavitch didn't tell you?**

Only the gods comprehended the humorous situation, as only they knew how to expertly pronounce the foreign name without butchering it.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. He completely butchered the poor Doc's name," Apollo's eyes twinkled with a large dose of mirth, all remnant tension from his dispute with Hades fading away.

 **We talked to him on the phone. He, uh, we're from Ohio state. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper."**

A few pairs of eyes couldn't resist flickering over towards Rachel, expectantly, awaiting her outburst, but it never came. Rachel was drowning in a lake of depression and couldn't bring herself to complain about the Winchesters' spanking new impersonation.

"I actually miss Rachel's complaining," Nico murmured to Jason and Thalia, both of whom nodded sadly in agreement.

Leaning forward, Jason whispered, "Hopefully she'll snap out of it soon."

"I can hear you guys, you know?" Rachel muttered in a monotone, her expression blank.

Nico and Jason looked sheepish.

" **Well, I'm sorry, he's at lunch," the morgue tech revealed, not sounding sorry at all.**

 **Liv, who had been shrouded by Sam's impressive frame, stepped to the side and flashed the geeky morgue tech a winsome smile, dazzling teeth on full display. "Oh," she pouted, biting her lower lip. "I was really looking forward to studying this case. Is there anything you can do…?" she trailed off, hopefully.**

Artemis turned a startling shade of red. "She's offering herself up as bait. How _deplorable_. Has she no respect for herself?" she scathingly demanded.

"I concur," Athena spat out, glaring at the screen with utter revulsion. "And I was just beginning to respect the demigod."

Ares subconsciously found himself glaring daggers at the two Virgin Goddesses, insulted on Olivia's behalf…something he wouldn't realize until later on, much to a smug Aphrodite's delight.

"Hey! A bit harsh don't you think?" Piper defensively snapped, not appreciating their abasement of a girl that was quickly becoming an idol to her. "You're acting as if she stripped naked and offered sexual services to get what she wants! She did _no_ such thing! It's just innocent flirting."

Aphrodite beamed proudly.

In a drone monotone, Rachel added, "The way I see it, Liv's taking advantage of her assets to save lives."

"She should respect herself," Athena sneered, Artemis nodding along vigorously. "And her cousins are even more despicable for allowing such perversions to occur!"

Apollo rolled his eyes, but smartly kept his mouth shut. Truthfully, if Artemis hadn't spoken up, then he would not have hesitated to shut Athena up. Alas, he had no desire to insult his beloved twin.

"Sometimes, sacrifices must be made. And to be honest, Liv isn't really sacrificing much," Piper shrugged. "If the guy can't resist a pretty face and easily becomes putty in her hand, it isn't Liv's fault. Just because you two don't agree with her methods, it doesn't give you the right to demean her and to judge her so harshly."

Katie innocently pointed out, "It's not like they can put a gun to his head and threaten him to comply."

That shut Artemis and Athena up. …For a brief moment. Thankfully, the screen resumed, silencing any further remarks.

 **The morgue tech blushed profusely and began to stutter; Sam scowled at Liv's back while Dean's expression turned taut, a nerve twitching in his jaw, though he smartly kept quiet. Liv smiled innocently and settled her elbows on the desk. "The-the-the doc will be back in an-… in an hour. You can wait for him if you- if you w-want," he managed to breath out in his visibly flustered state.**

 **Liv's smile faltered. "An hour? By then we're supposed to be heading back to Columbus," she faked sadness, biting harder into her plump lower lip.**

"She's good," Apollo breathed out, bright blues darkening with lust.

Hermes shifted uncomfortably in his seat and grunted, "Really, _really_ good."

Leo had drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, and Percy, Jason, Connor and Chris gazed at her with star-struck eyes, completely unabashed.

Staring at her boyfriend in amusement, Piper addressed Annabeth and Clarisse, "I feel like I should be mad. Surprisingly, I'm not."

In a quite unladylike manner, Annabeth snorted, a hand quickly shooting up to cover her mouth. "That's 'cause we have Dean to ogle at," she winked.

"Sam for me," Clarisse piped up with a smirk, staring at her boyfriend in amusement.

"How atrocious. _Really_?" Amphitrite rolled her eyes at the men, smacking Poseidon and Triton in the head. "Snap out of it!"

An animalistic growl reverberated against the walls, snapping nearly every hormonal male out of their lascivious trance. Hermes, Apollo and Poseidon sent uncomfortable yet mildly apologetic looks toward Ares, who adamantly ignored them, along with Aphrodite's _illegally_ smug Cheshire smile.

Fully awakened from his trance, Chris suddenly yelped and blinked at Clarisse in realization, "You've been ogling _Sam_?!"

"Oh, don't be a hypocrite, Chrissy," Clarisse teased, paying no attention to her father's warning growl.

Percy and Jason stared at their respective girlfriends with dissimilar sad puppy-dog eyes. That too, went ignored.

" **Oh, oh,** _ **well**_ **…" the morgue tech trailed off, absorbed in the pearly white front teeth that were biting into the rosy lower lips.**

 **Dean snarled and leaned into Sam, "I'm gonna hit him in the face,** _ **I swear**_ **." Sam nodded furiously.**

 **Taking advantage of the morgue tech's flustered state, Liv grabbed a thick curl from her newly made ponytail and twirled it around her finger, "The paper's** _ **like**_ **, half our grade. You'd be doing me a real favor."**

"Ooh, the seductive hair-twirl. _Always_ works," Piper grinned.

Jason gaped at her, taken aback. "How do you know _that_?!" he demanded.

Piper replied with a small shrug of mock innocence, a devious smile on her gorgeous visage, "A girl's gotta have her secrets."

"I am so proud of you, my darling daughter," a proud Aphrodite squealed, unable to contain her happiness a moment longer.

"Outstanding parenting there," Hera sarcastically commented, sneering at the love goddess.

Hephaestus paused in his tinkering. He looked up and gave his mother an incredulous look before grunting, "You're one to talk."

Ares and Aphrodite smirked, inclining their heads towards the blacksmith.

Zeus' hand on her forearm halted any indignant remarks that were on the tip of her tongue, prompting Hera to harrumph in affront and look away.

"Shockingly, I fully agree with Hera," Artemis muttered under her breath.

 **Finally, he jerked his head, giving them the green light, "O-okay. Follow me." He smiled brightly at Liv, downright ignoring the two furious and overprotective men behind her.**

 **Inside the morgue, the Winchesters were congregated around Steven Shoemaker's corpse, the morgue tech standing uncomfortably close to Liv, who blatantly ignored him. Clearing his throat, Sam, who was glaring at the morgue tech, snapped, "Now the newspaper said his daughter found him. She said his eyes were bleeding."**

Rachel flinched violently.

In response, Connor tightened his arm around her, giving her a soft smile upon hearing her murmur a quiet " _thank you._ "

Ares couldn't help but glare daggers; that damn runt was succeeding in making him lose his composure… and he didn't like it, _at all_! He didn't care about _her_ , he was adamant about that. But that didn't mean he could fake happiness over the fact that she was offering herself up like a common _whore_ ; dangling herself like bait to encourage the filthy mortal slug's depraved fantasies. Despite his indignant claim that he didn't care about the weakling, he was slightly mollified upon observing her cousins' anger and the venomous glares they aimed at the slug.

Noting Aphrodite's knowing smile, Ares scowled darkly and looked away, rearranging his expression into one of apathy and disinterest. ' _The runt could whore around for all I care. She means_ nothing _to me._ NOTHING _!_ "

 **The morgue tech pulled back the sheet covering Steven's face and explained, "More than that. They practically liquefied."**

Collective winces met that statement, and those with weaker stomachs – Rachel and Grover – looked away from the screen where Steven's face was in full view for a brief moment.

"That's a painful way to go," Apollo muttered, his handsome visage contorting into a sympathetic grimace, instantly comprehending the medical and biological aspects as it was part of his domain.

" **Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?" Dean postulated. The morgue tech shook his head and looked at Liv instead of Dean, as though he were desperate for her approval, "Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone."**

 **Gritting his teeth, an annoyed Sam asked, "What's the official cause of death?"**

"Hmm, at least those two buffoons have the grace to be infuriated with that man," Athena huffed, obviously still appalled at Olivia's despicable actions.

Rolling his eyes, Apollo hastened to change the subject by answering Sam's inquiry. "At first, I'd say exsanguination. _However_ , I'm inclined to believe the poor guy suffered an intense cerebral bleeding," he intelligently revealed, expression solemn. "To know for sure, I'd have to personally inspect the body," he shrugged.

"It would be a fascinating case to explore," Will muttered, his tone mildly enthusiastic.

Nico rolled his eyes fondly at the blonde and smiled, "Nerd."

Apollo stared at them for a moment before glancing sideways to the love goddess. She dipped her head and smirked, eyes knowing and filled with mirth. A grin overtook his features, replacing the previous confusion, and Apollo shook his head, it would be one of the most bizarre yet intriguing couplings to date – the son of the light and the son of the dark, two complete opposites that came together like magnets. … _'I guess opposites really do attract.'_

" _Behave_ ," Apollo mouthed to the love goddess, knowing that Aphrodite couldn't help but intervene in people's love lives, particularly demigods. She rolled her eyes in response and shot him a deadpanned look. He was asking for a miracle… _Truly_.

" **Ah, Doc's not sure. He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure," the morgue tech replied. Finally throwing him a bone, Liv squarely met his gaze, her expression one of genuine interest, "What do you mean?"**

 **Eyes wide and cheeks flushed, he eagerly explained, "Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."**

"Called it," Apollo sang, grinning from ear to ear.

"Tis not a humorous matter, Apollo," Artemis chastised.

 **Sam looked contemplative, "The eyes… what would cause something like that?"**

 **The morgue tech shrugged, "Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."**

" **Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?" Dean sarcastically snapped.**

And again, Rachel flinched, a whimper escaping her.

Percy, the Stolls, Annabeth and Grover shot her a concerned look.

The Oracle couldn't help but rub her eyes, almost as though she was making sure they were still there and whole. "That could've been me," she voiced out in a low hush. "It-it, it could've been m-me…" she trailed off in tears.

"But it's _not_ ," Percy emphatically stated, leaning forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey, Rach, come on. I'm sure you're not the only person to have done it and survived without a scratch. There must be a reason for all this. Quit worrying."

Making a noise of comprehension, Apollo kindly addressed the redhead, "You've no reason to be feeling survivor's guilt, Rachel. It's _not_ your fault you lived and Steven Shoemaker didn't, alright?"

Eyes wide, Rachel's taut expression melted into one of pure relief and she obediently bobbed her head, her gratitude for her patron skyrocketing.

" **That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor," the morgue tech replied, unconcerned. Dean cleared his throat and scratched the top of his head, "Hey, think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh…our paper."**

Hermes appeared to be sincerely disappointed, shaking his head at Dean, "Currently, he's an abysmal liar."

"Shame," Persephone sarcastically put in, her lips quirked in a teasing smirk.

Completely serious, Hermes nodded, his eyes wide, " _I know_ , right?"

" **I'm not really supposed to show you that…" the morgue tech trailed off when he came face to face with Liv's pleading gaze, batting her eyelashes at him for emphasis, "** _ **Please**_ **?"**

"Ridiculous," Athena sneered while Artemis simultaneously spat out, "Disgraceful."

Zeus groaned and buried his face in the palm of his hands; one would think that being a father of two daughters that vowed an eternity of chastity would make for a simpler life…unfortunately, it was not exactly a blessing but a nightmare due to their judgmental attitude.

"That's your opinion and we respect that," Piper spat, sneering at them. "How about you do the same and respect other's life choices, huh?!" The daughter of Aphrodite was really on a roll, but like all children of Aphrodite, nothing ticked them off more than judgmental virgins who staunchly believed that those who didn't follow their way of life – AKA, spinsterhood – were whores. …Until now, Thalia seemed to be the only exception.

Artemis and Athena scowled.

"Piper makes an _excellent_ point," Hestia announced, her voice firm and laced with a warning. "Now, let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

"The voice of reason has spoken," Ariadne smiled softly at Hestia, who returned the smile in kind.

 **The scene shifted; the Winchesters were descending the staircase, and Dean and Sam were both sporting annoyed expressions. Liv rolled her eyes, "Quit breathing down my neck you two! So I flirted a bit and it worked. We got what we wanted and you didn't have to waste the money you earned playing poker the other day. The way I look at it, it's a win, win."**

"POKER!" Hera shrieked, appalled. "I do not approve of their abhorring lifestyle. Where is that father of theirs?! I cannot believe he approves!" she hissed.

Annabeth glowered at her most hated Olympian, "Well it's not like they have a choice. It's either poker or credit card fraud. It's not like hunting earns them a decent lifestyle."

Artemis looked torn, "Yes, I quite see your point, daughter of Athena."

" _Artemis_!" Hera snapped, outraged.

"My hunters receive provisions from Olympus, Hera," Artemis tentatively elaborated. "These mortal hunters however, they have no benefactor, and have selflessly dedicated their lives to protecting innocents and eradicating the world from monsters and harmful entities. I cannot bring myself to belittle them for their methods of earning money."

Triton grimaced, "Now I can't help but pity them. You painted them in a sorrowful light, Artemis."

Piper leaned over to whisper in Hazel's ears, "Is it just me, or is Artemis bipolar?"

The daughter of Pluto stifled her snort of laughter and buried her face in Frank's chest.

Thalia halfheartedly smacked Piper on the arm for disrespecting her patron, though she too had a ghost of a smile on her face that she would forever deny.

 **Grumbling, Sam curtly nodded, "Anyways… It might not be one of ours. Might just be some freak medical thing."**

"Oh, it's definitely one of yours," Leo contradicted.

Jason shrugged and pointed out, "Yeah, but it's not like _they_ know that."

" _Yet_ ," Leo emphasized, grinning cheekily.

" **How many times in Dad's long and varied career has it** _ **actually**_ **been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?" Dean retorted.**

 **Simultaneously, Sam said, "Uh, almost never." and Liv snorted, "Like 0.000001%."**

 **Smirking at them, Dean nodded once, "Exactly."**

"You know what… I just realized something," Rachel looked like she had just been hit with an epiphany, her still bloodshot eyes wide with alarm. "There are so many cold cases out there. I've seen it in the news. A lot of murder investigations remain unsolved because of weird, inexplicable deaths, missing murder weapons, lack of motive, lack of fingerprints or clues… They must all be a case for hunters like the Winchesters."

Katie nodded, sharing the redhead's alarming epiphany, "Exactly. And those cases seems so normal like Mr. Shoemaker, that most hunters brush it off as a freak accident like Sam just did."

"Cold cases are a bitch," Piper sighed.

Hera frowned and wagged a finger at her, " _Language_ , young lady."

Piper smiled apologetically, though it was obvious to her friends that she wasn't sorry at all.

" **All right," Sam appeared resigned, his shoulder slumped. "Let's go talk to the daughter."**

Leo leaned forward and eagerly rubbed his hands together, " _Now_ , we're talking."

Rachel too, sported a curious expression. She didn't think she'd be able to relax until the case was solved and she was given an authentic reason as to why the Shoemaker family was affected by Bloody Mary, while she and her friends weren't.

 **The scene changed. The Winchesters stepped into the Shoemaker household where a funeral for Steven was taking place, a large picture of him on a desk. The attendees comprised of all the men in black suits, while the women donned black dresses.**

 **Dean shifted uncomfortably as they walked through the house, "Feel like we're underdressed."**

 **In turn, Liv glanced down at her outfit; she had on skinny denim jeans, a snug black T-shirt with the iconic red tongue and lips motif of Rolling Stone in the center, and black converses on her feet. Shrugging, she casually drawled as they made their way to the back, "At least I'm wearing black."**

"No comment," Annabeth giggled, shaking her head at Liv's antics.

Eyes filled with approval, Thalia grinned, "I like her style."

"You would," Nico snarkily commented.

"Shut up, Goth Boy," Thalia retorted, staring pointedly at his aviator jacket and silver skull ring, before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Okay you two, back to your corners," Jason spoke to them as though they were naughty toddlers.

In tandem, Thalia and Nico stared unblinkingly at Jason, arched an eyebrow and intoned, "Shut up, Jason!"

"All three of you back to your corners," Percy smirked.

The aforementioned three glowered at the son of Poseidon and chanted, "Shut _up_ , Percy!"

"All four of you _shut up_!" Annabeth, Piper and Hazel yelled, effectively concluding their childish spat.

Pouting, the four cousins indignantly crossed their arms against their chests and looked away.

Zeus, Poseidon and Hades blinked in alarm, shocked at not only their children's attitude, but their close bond.

Hestia on the other hand, donned a satisfied expression; she could feel the children of the Big Three were finally getting through their respective father's thick skulls.

" **Yeah the flashy mouth kind of ruins the respectable image though, Liv," Sam snarkily pointed out, prompting Liv to glare at him.**

"They keep provoking each other," Thalia perceived.

Smirking all of a sudden, Percy lowered his voice and informed her, "Kinda like human versions of our Dads."

Thalia snorted, her eyes twinkling with mirth, "So true."

Poseidon, a covert smirk on his face, leaned over to address Zeus, "Shall we pretend we didn't hear them?"

The Lord of the Sky huffed, "It is like they forget we are gods with enhanced senses."

 **The scene then shifted to the backyard, the camera focusing on a man pointing the Winchesters towards Lily and her sister who stood with two blonde girls. Upon approaching the four girls, Dean addressed Lily's sister, "You must be Donna, right?"**

 **After the Winchesters offered their condolences, Sam said, "I'm Sam, this is Dean, and our cousin Liv. Dean and I worked with your Dad."**

 **Donna glanced at one of the blonds, her expression confused. "You did?"**

" **Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke," Dean stated incredulously. One of the blondes firmly cut in, "I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now."**

"Who would?" Frank scoffed, rhetorically.

"How else are they going to fish for answers," Percy pointed out.

Clarisse snorted, amused gaze fixated on Percy, "Really, Prissy? Fishing analogies?"

Percy shrugged, "I _am_ the son of the Sea God."

 **Donna brushed off her concern, "It's okay. I'm okay."**

" **Were there any symptoms? Dizziness? Migraines?" Dean probed. But as Donna replied in negative, Lily intruded, her expression miserable, "That's because it** _ **wasn't**_ **a stroke."**

" **Lily, don't say that," Donna harshly rebuked her.**

"Let the girl talk!" Rachel snapped, her feisty attitude making a sudden appearance. She wanted answers; she _needed_ to get to the bottom of Bloody Mary's origin, and Donna was standing in the way.

"Feeble minds of mortals," Dionysus absentmindedly commented.

Surprisingly, Rachel didn't level him with her customary heated glare.

"Well, Lily is younger. She's at an age more accepting of anything that can be considered unnatural," Hecate wisely expressed.

 **Liv's gaze snapped from Donna to Lily as the elder sister apologized to them, "I'm sorry, she's just upset."**

" **No, it happened because of me," Lily adamantly revealed.**

 **Approaching the young girl, Liv kept her expression amicable, "Why would you think that?"**

"Despite Lily summoning Bloody Mary, Steven's death is _not_ her fault," Ariadne kindly commented, her compassion surging for the poor girl.

Dionysus let out a weary sigh; his beloved wife was too soft. "Yes. You cannot blame the girl for her ignorance. It's not her fault she's a simpleton," he remarked dryly.

" _Dionysus_!" Ariadne scolded her husband, torn between exasperation and resignation.

The wine god let out a loud long-suffering sigh, "I complimented her, dear."

"Uh, no you didn't," Annabeth gaped, disbelieving orbs trained on the snarky god.

"Annie Bell, grown-ups are talking," he shot back insouciantly.

Unaffected, Annabeth rolled her eyes, "It's Annabeth. But I'm sure you already knew that."

"Of course I did, Annabelle."

Raising her hands in the air, the daughter of Athena groaned, "I rest my case!"

 **Gazing at Liv's warm mahogany orbs, Lily cryptically stated, "Right before he died,** _ **I said it**_ **."**

 **Sam walked over to Liv's side and softly asked, "Said what?"**

" **Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror," she admitted in a hush. Both of Liv's eyebrows shot upwards and her visage turned skeptical for a split-second before she hid it well behind a mask of apathy.**

"Wow. That's a lot of emotions in less than five seconds," Hermes whistled, impressed.

Aphrodite softly nudged Ares, "She gets that from you."

"Affie…" he growled in warning.

But the love goddess merely shrugged and haughtily pointed out, "I speak the truth and you know it. I will not lie. You can deny all you want, Ares, but you cannot lie to yourself. That-" she pointed one manicured finger at the screen, "-mask is identical to the one you currently wear. _Don't_ argue with me."

The small lover's spat between the god of war and the goddess of love went unnoticed by the demigods as they were all focused on one particular matter.

"She's skeptical," Percy stated. "She doesn't believe Lily."

Connor let out a wry snort, "Demons, she believes. Ghosts, and whatever else, but she draws the line at Bloody Mary? That's stupid."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Clarisse reflexively defended her older half-sister.

 **After an awkward pause, Lily stubbornly pressed on, "She** _ **took**_ **his eyes, that's** _ **what**_ **she does."**

 **Carding a hand through her sister's hair, Donna softly yet firmly said, "That's not why Dad died. This** _ **isn't**_ **your fault."**

" **Trust me, Lily. Your sister's right," Liv assured her. Dean nodded and in afterthought, added, "There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?"**

 **Pursing her lips, Lily slowly shook her head, "No, I don't think so."**

"That's actually a valid argument," Hecate suddenly declared. "Lily was the one to summon Bloody Mary. Why attack her father? Why not target her?"

Clearing his throat, Nico hesitantly inquired, "Summoned? Does that mean we're saying Bloody Mary is a ghost…?"

Dragging a hand down his weary face, Hades grumpily responded in affirmative, "Unfortunately, it looks that way. The Legend claims her to be a spirit. There is no other explanation."

"There appears to be a lot of ghosts wandering around, darling. It's disquieting," Persephone muttered to her husband, interlacing her hand with his.

"Perhaps," Hecate licked her lower lip and leaned towards the couple, observing them intently. " _Perhaps_ once we have concluded the Fates' task, we should convene with Melinoe, gather her opinion regarding these spirits' unfathomable behavior. It _is_ , after all, her area of expertise, don't you think?"

The King and Queen of the Underworld shared a quick, meaningful glance, an action Hecate had long ago familiarized herself with to be a telltale sign of a silent conversation being instigated between the enamored couple. Turning to their friend, they briskly dipped their head in acquiescence.

 **The scene shifted; the Winchesters were still at the Shoemaker household, and stood upstairs in the middle of the hallway, observing the mirrors. Pausing by the bathroom Steven had died in, Sam pushed the door open to reveal the floor was still painted with some dried blood.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose, "Forensics should have at least had the decency to clean up once they departed the crime scene."

A short moment of silence followed her matter-of-fact statement.

" _What_?" she brusquely snapped, glaring at Athena, who had been staring at the love goddess with unadulterated surprise.

"Nothing. Merely surprised you know about something as complicated as forensics," Athena offhandedly stated.

Aphrodite's stunning features morphed into a contemptuous sneer, "I _am_ A LOT older than you, Athena! You'd be surprised by how much information there is stored inside my head. I am knowledgeable in plenty, so much so, it would make your head spin. _Mind your tongue_."

"Sorry, and here I thought you were nothing but a vapid bimbo. My _sincerest_ apologies," Athena sarcastically confessed in a disgustingly saccharine tone.

Mortified, Annabeth swallowed back a gasp, her wide, disbelieving eyes trained on her mother, "She did _not_ just. say. _that_!"

" _She did_ ," Piper snarled, offended on mother's behalf.

Ares growled, his intimidating sword ominously materializing in hand.

Everyone waited with abated breaths, almost expectantly, for Aphrodite to retaliate; even Hestia sat frozen in her throne, rendered speechless. However, to their collective surprise, the love goddess simply offered the goddess of wisdom a sweet smile that held a menacing quality to it, and lightly said, "Don't be so bitter, Athena. It provokes wrinkles. I mean, your beauty is… _acceptable_. Your brain… well, you cannot boast much about the amount of knowledge you hold as your jurisdiction is shared with Apollo, who, let's face it, holds _superior_ knowledge in comparison. To recapitulate, Athena _darling_ , your beauty is average, your brain is adequate, your heart is nonexistent and you have _no_ love life, and your tongue is acidic. Truly, you have _nothing_ going for you. As you can see, even your own daughter is ashamed of you." To prove her point, she softly inclined her head towards a gobsmacked Annabeth. "So to appease your ego, you demean and belittle everyone around you. Frankly, that's quite sad and… _pathetic_." The more she spoke, the darker her voice became until she spat the last word out with naught but cruelty.

It felt like all the oxygen had escaped the room as a metaphorical thundercloud could be seen looming over Athena's head, her expression contorted into an ugly, apoplectic look.

" _You WHORE_!" she finally roared, faithful spear appearing in hand as she lunged forward.

The demigods were frozen, some in sheer fear, pitying the goddess of love, clearly believing she stood no chance against Athena, who so happened to be a great tactician and the goddess of not only wisdom, but battle. However, those like Percy and Piper knew Aphrodite's full potential and _knew_ her wrath was not one to invoke; just as Athena charged with her mighty spear, the two demigods' assessment was instantly proven correct.

Gasps of horror pervaded the air when the spear was consecutively raised and brought down on Aphrodite, only for the love goddess to dissolve into a shower of pink petals. Imitating a whirlpool, the petals rapidly spun and twirled and as they landed onto the ground, Aphrodite reappeared in a puff of pink smoke directly behind Athena. Athena didn't see it coming, either because she was blind in rage, or like others, she severely underestimated the love goddess's prowess in battle. A split-second after disappearing, Aphrodite threw a well-aimed kick at Athena from behind, causing her to lose her balance and turn around, however she barely had time to raise her spear again when Aphrodite's left hand crackled with pink energy.

"Ares! Stop her!" Zeus bellowed, his command reeking with concern.

The war god was sprawled lazily on his throne, deftly and nonchalantly twirling his sword in half-circles, while his flaming sockets were flaring with intrigue and _unadulterated_ lust. Upon hearing his father's command, Ares casually addressed him while maintaining a close eye on the skirmish before him, "Why should I? Affie's spectacular. She can handle herself amazingly…" he trailed off with a sinister gleam in his eyes that coincided with his lover disarming Athena.

The pink energy encased Aphrodite's left hand and generated a small blast, weak enough to simply disarm Athena of her spear. The pink blast shot forward like a bullet and exploded against Athena's hand, prompting an alarmed yelp out of her as her spear escaped her grip and landed by a maniacally grinning Ares' feet. Before anybody could get any ideas, Ares' foot came forward, stepping on the butt of the spear, a clear warning to those _foolish_ enough to come to Athena's aid, _not to_.

Approaching Athena with catlike grace, Aphrodite swung her blade forward, pausing a millimeter away from her neck. The only sound in the room was Athena's ragged breathing. Her gray eyes blazed with malice when Aphrodite smiled dazzlingly at her. "You've lost your touch, _Athena_. What happened to using _wisdom_ to overcome opponents instead of sheer force?" the rhetorical inquiry bled with mockery.

While Zeus was confident that Aphrodite would not dare to fatally harm his daughter, as the Olympians had a nasty habit of concluding most of their council meetings in skirmishes, he was mildly concerned as this moment happened to be the first time Aphrodite struck with a blade instead of her sharp tongue. " _Aphrodite_ -"

"Relax, Zeus," she calmly assured him, her narrowed gaze never detaching from the pair of malicious grays. "If I had the intention of harming your precious brat, I would've used full voltage and blasted her out of Olympus, six-hundred floors down. But I am sure I will have another chance to do _just that_ , for I know Athena has the inability to curb her poisonous tongue and respect her elders," she spoke in a deathly calm voice that elicited shivers down the teenagers' spines and even Athena slightly quivered from where she stood. She then barged into Athena's personal space, Aphrodite's face inches from hers, the blade of her sword against Athena's neck the only barrier between them. "This isn't the first time you have mocked my position as an Olympian, dear. I allowed you to underestimate me time and time again for many millennia. But this was just a little taste, Athena darling. Do not forget, I _am_ the daughter of Ouranos, and thus, _a lot_ older than you. A piece of advice," she dropped her blade, the sword vanishing in a bubble of pink lights. "Next time, _think_ before you speak. Use that _divine wisdom_ you pride yourself on having, _hmm_?"

The demigods watched in awe as the breathtaking goddess smoothed her long raven locks and returned to her throne beside Ares, allowing him to wound a strong, muscled arm around her waist. With a devious grin, Ares kicked Athena's spear, sliding it over to her and met her malicious gaze with a potent glare.

Clearing her throat in an attempt to maintain what little dignity she had left, Athena snapped her fingers, banishing her weapon and sulkily sat on her throne, avoiding the many gazes fixated upon her, most specifically the disappointed grays of her daughter.

"Your mom is _badass_ ," Leo whooped, gazing between Piper and Aphrodite in awe.

Piper beamed with pride and subtly high-fived Percy, as the son of the sea god was the only one beside her that had full confidence in her mother. Shrugging, Percy matter-of-factly stated, "I've said it once, and I'll say it again… I've met Aphrodite in person more than once, and her powers terrified me, worse than Ares even."

The gods, who had been clandestinely eavesdropping on the demigods' conversation, couldn't quite conceal their shock. Eyes swiveled towards the unlikely couple that comprised of love and war; Percy's statement clearly indicated that he had met both Ares and Aphrodite before, and they wondered why, where, when and how. Athena on the other hand, sulked at the compliments the sea spawn directed at the vapid whore she could not bring herself into respecting, and therefore, reluctantly maintained her silence.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, Athena. Stop provoking others with your toxic words," Hestia coldly announced, though a part of her knew that Athena would not learn and that Aphrodite had let the goddess of wisdom off easily.

 **Tearing his gaze from the dried blood, Sam looked over at Dean, "The Bloody Mary legend… Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?"**

 **Liv, who was leaning against the open bathroom door, scoffed, prompting Dean to shoot her an inquiring gaze.**

A frown puckered on Rachel's forehead, frustration written all over her features at Liv's behavior.

 **Shaking his head, Dean walked past her and into the bathroom to join Sam who had stooped to the floor and was lightly touching the dried blood. "Not that I know of," Dean responded.**

" **I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it," Sam elaborated his confusion.**

Connor lightly bumped his shoulder against Rachel's, his mischievous visage alight with compassion, "See! You're not the first to play Bloody Mary. Stop stressing over it."

The Oracle emphatically bobbed her head, her tense posture relaxing a great deal at both Sam's words and Connor's reassurance.

"Samuel merely elaborated the point I previously made. Why did the spirit strike with the Shoemakers in particular?" Hecate rhetorically announced to the room at large, her expression contemplative.

"That family must have triggered a certain requirement," Persephone postulated.

" **Yeah, well, maybe everywhere it's just a story, but here it's** _ **actually**_ **happening," Dean claimed. At that moment, a heavily cynical snort escaped Liv's lips, unable to hold her skepticism in anymore. Sam and Dean frowned at each other before they stared at Liv, their faces shining with mixed emotions. Taking a step forward, Dean, his voice coated with irritation, snapped, "Okay,** _ **what**_ **is your problem, Liv?"**

Eager for an explanation to Liv's bizarre attitude, Rachel leaned forward.

"Yes, _what is_ her problem," Hades murmured to himself, one pale, elegant finger stroking his lower lip, dark orbs flaring with intrigue.

 **Pushing herself off the bathroom door, Liv stepped into the bathroom, "I'm sorry, I just, I can't." She vigorously shook her head and sarcastically snapped, "** _ **Bloody Mary**_ **is a game concocted by teenage girls with overactive imaginations,** _ **okay**_ **? It's** _ **not**_ **real!"**

"That's _exactly_ what I said," Rachel whispered, her tone a mixture of confusion and relief. Truth be told, Liv's skepticism was proving to be a balm to her ego, relieving her own guilt. The fact that an experienced hunter – who had probably seen _a lot_ of crazy and inexplicable things in life, more than her demigod friends and herself as a clear sighted mortal – was mocking and scorning a dangerous superstition that so happened to be real, made her feel a ton lighter.

Apollo shook his head, "Olivia must have a reason for strongly denying the veracity of Bloody Mary. She _hunts_ the supernatural for a living, her skepticism must stem from something in particular."

 **Sam's mouth was parted in shock, eyes trained at his cousin in disbelief; he then looked at Dean, his expression mirroring his. Rubbing his temple, Dean met Liv's stubborn glare with narrowed eyes, "Since when are skeptical about anything that has to do with the** **supernatural?"**

 **For the first time since Lily's admission, Liv looked sheepish and she turned away from Dean's hard gaze. Inhaling deeply, Liv confessed, "It's hard not to be when you've done it before."**

 **Their reaction was simultaneous; as Sam exclaimed, "What?" Dean spoke over his brother, and demanded, "** _ **When**_ **?"**

"She's done it before," Rachel breathed out in relief. "She's-she's, Liv she, she… Liv played Bloody Mary before. _Oh_ gods!"

Poseidon blinked in disbelief, "I admit, I did not expect that."

"One would think a skilled hunter who's seen a lot of scary shit wouldn't make light of a legend," Thalia sarcastically stated.

Katie frowned at the Oracle, "Why're you so happy about it?"

"I don't know. I guess, I guess the fact that Liv was in my shoes, that she played the game and nothing happened, I guess I feel better. I don't know why exactly, don't ask," Rachel flushed a brilliant red upon realizing she didn't make sense and probably looked insane in the gods' eyes.

Aphrodite however, was in a tizzy. "She could have _died_. How could she be so irresponsible!?" she demanded in a state of panic.

"She got lucky," Ares grunted, wholly unconcerned, much to his lover's displeasure and a few gods' aggravation.

 **Exhaling loudly, Liv nervously revealed, "Two years back." She then squarely met Dean's disapproving stare, "In Ligonier."**

Hermes frowned in puzzlement, " _Ligonier_? That small town in Pennsylvania? There hasn't been a population of two-thousand since the 1970s. What was she doing there?"

"A case," Apollo retorted in an obvious tone. "That family's probably passed through every single town in America."

"I know _that_ ," Hermes snapped, rolling his eyes at his brother. "I'm not an idiot. What I meant was… The way Olivia phrased it, sounded like it was more than just ' _passing_ _through'_."

 **Sam's confusion increased when Dean** _ **oh**_ **-ed in comprehension, his hard expression softening considerably. "What do you mean '** _ **oh**_ **'?" Sam demanded. When neither Dean nor Liv elaborated, he huffed in frustration, "Let me guess, more secrets the both of you are keeping from me. …** _ **Well**_ **? I have the right to know!"**

" **You** _ **abandoned**_ **us, Sam," Liv snarled through gritted teeth. "You don't have the right to know** _ **anything**_ **!"**

"Jeez. With that grudge she's not willing to let go of, she can be a daughter of Hades," Thalia muttered.

Nico rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Thals."

"She does have a point," Percy sheepishly pointed out, smiling apologetically at Nico, who half-heartedly huffed in response.

This time, Hades rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue with his brothers' offspring.

" **Would you** _ **let it go**_ **already. I** _ **didn't**_ **abandon you!"**

 **Liv sneered, "Maybe you should look up the definition of abandon in a dictionary, and while you're at it, check out** _ **denial**_ **, too!"**

" _Burn_!" the Stolls crowed, grinning from ear to ear.

Beaming, Leo exclaimed, "She told him!"

" _ **Enough**_ **!" Dean snapped, silencing them. "Quit dodging, Liv." He stared intently at his cousin, who was currently wringing her wrist nervously. "Apparently, you** _ **haven't**_ **told me everything about Ligonier." Liv guiltily looked away, her shoulders slumped in misery which once again, had Dean's expression softening, "What's this about Bloody Mary? You know better than to experiment with legends."**

" **I wasn't** _ **experimenting**_ **," Liv retorted heatedly, her posture defensive. "And I wasn't looking for a hunt to prove myself either if** _ **that's**_ **what you're thinking. It was a… it was a stupid dare, okay?" she muttered, her tone going down a notch.**

"Wow. That's a total déjà-vu. Her situation is exactly like Lily's," Rachel commented.

Head cocked, Katie frowned, "And yours wasn't?"

Rachel shook her head, "Nope. My friend Crystal, her big brother tried spooking her with the Legend of Bloody Mary, gave her nightmares. The girls came over to my place for a slumber party, we started fooling around, taking it in turns to tell scary stories and when it was Crystal's turn, she mentioned the legend. Ashley decided it would be _cool_ to check it out, said that once nothing happens, Crystal won't have nightmares anymore." Rachel then shrugged, "It took a while to convince her, but it was four against one. We all gave it a go, and nothing happened."

"I didn't know you had many friends before you met Percy," Annabeth couldn't help but mention.

A bitter smile materialized on the Oracle's face that looked out of place, "I don't, really. Because of my Dad's job, I don't really have a chance to stick around in one place for long. In the end, I just gave up on making friends as I got tired of saying goodbye."

Sympathetic looks met Rachel's statement.

"Anyways, enough of that. Let's, uh, let's continue," Rachel said, giving her friends a tight-lipped smile.

" **A dare?" Sam parroted incredulously. Dean arched a brow, "I thought you knew better, Liv. Who dared you?"**

 **Lowering her eyes, Liv mumbled, "Keane."**

"Ooohh, do I detect an ex-boyfriend, maybe?" Katie wiggled her eyebrows and giggled.

Piper couldn't help but let out a string of giggles as well, "If he is, then I approve. I can already tell he's sexy just by his name."

Artemis scowled.

" **Who's** _ **Keane**_ **?" Sam spat the unfamiliar name out in palpable disapproval. "Don't tell me he's a boyfriend!"**

 **She scrunched her nose at the idea. "** _ **Eww**_ **! God,** _ **no**_ **! He's my-" she cut herself off, her expression morphing from indignation to misery in the blink of an eye. "He** _ **was**_ **my best friend."**

"Some of the most epic relationships start out as _just_ friends," Annabeth matter-of-factly declared, smiling fondly at Percy who pecked her cheek.

"You'd know," Grover pointedly spoke up.

Thalia rolled her eyes, "You guys make me wanna hurl."

Athena frowned, her suspicions surging. Her daughter would never dare to even _think about_ entering a romantic relationship with the son of her rival. _'I'm imagining things. Yes. That's it._ '

 **Sam's expression fell and he let out a long sigh, "See,** _ **that's why**_ **I wanted out. Out of this life Dad wants for us. As long as we continue hunting, we can never have a normal life, meaning we can't make friends because in the end, we have no choice but to leave them behind-"**

" _ **Woah, woah, woah**_ **! Hold your horses, Sammy-boy," Liv interjected, chuckling bitterly. "I never said** _ **anything**_ **about me leaving.** _ **He**_ **. Left.** _ **Me**_ **. Okay?" she snapped, eyes welling with the beginning formation of tears.**

"What a sucky best friend," Percy sneered, his pity for the daughter of Ares surging.

"It's kind of sad, really," Hazel softly spoke up. "I mean, _yeah_ , as demigods, it's rare to have a nice, normal childhood, but… at least once we're in Camp, at least we have the opportunity to make friends."

A stilted silence encompassed the room.

"There's more to it," Will suddenly blurted out.

Grover cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

"I get the sense that a lot happened in Ligonier that's been left unsaid. Dean's reaction, his sympathy, the way he knew when to back off. And Liv, I can practically sense the misery radiating from her just by looking at her," Will patiently explained, thrusting an open hand at the screen where it had paused on Liv's crestfallen visage.

Biting her lower lip in thought, Rachel asked, "You think Keane was more than a best friend? Is that what you're saying?"

But before Will had a chance to respond, Aphrodite softly intervened in a knowing tone – which, _duhh!_ goddess of love, "No, no, definitely not. I do not detect anything amatory when she speaks of this mortal, Keane. I only sense a platonic bond, though a broken one." Her lovely features were contorted in sadness.

"Who cares," Dionysus sighed, banishing his magazine and conjuring a new one.

Hephaestus grunted, fingers a hairsbreadth away from each other.

" _Don't_ even think about it, Hephaestus!" Dionysus drawled without bothering to look up from his magazine.

He nevertheless snapped his fingers.

" _Hephaestus_!"

Ariadne giggled, eyes twinkling at her soot-covered husband, "You did deserve it, my love."

The wine god threw his wife a half-hearted glare and sighed. Snapping his fingers, he conjured a glass of red wine.

" _Dionysus_!" Zeus warned.

"I feel like a punching bag all of a sudden," he groaned, transforming the glass into a can of Diet Coke.

" **Liv," Dean looked pained and he made a move to comfort her, but Liv rapidly shook her head and blinked away her tears. "Look, all you need to know, is that I was bored. You were off on a case. Uncle John was off on a case. So after school, Keane stopped by our motel room and to pass the time, we played truth or dare and the whole Bloody Mary legend came up and we decided to give it a shot. I know it was foolish of me and I should've known better, but whatever. What happened, happened. There's no changing the past.** _ **Okay**_ **?" she snapped, hugging herself and taking a step away from Sam and Dean.**

 **Sam blinked, "** _ **School**_ **?!"**

Athena sniffed haughtily, "So she did attend school. At least that's something."

The war god couldn't help but join his lover in glaring at Athena, the veiled insult not going unnoticed by them.

 **Liv rolled her eyes. Dean turned to Sam, "Yeah. It was an undercover job and Liv was the only one that looked the part-"**

" **Can we** _ **not**_ **talk about it," Liv interrupted, earning a scowl from Sam and a groan from Dean. "We don't have time to update you on everything that's happened while you were off playing Ivy League, okay? We have a case to solve and there's a room full of people downstairs, so let's just get this over with and get the hell out of here before we get caught."**

Apollo grimaced, "Olivia is correct. They're wasting time arguing."

"Yeah, but I actually want to know more about this undercover job in Ligonier," Hermes said, fascinated.

"I'm sure it'll come up later," Amphitrite reasoned. "Samuel will not let the subject drop."

" **That's the thing,** _ **Olivia**_ **," Sam sneered, looming over her. "You keep saying that. What do you want from me, huh? You want me to apologize for leaving? To apologize for getting out of a life I** _ **never**_ **wanted. Well I'm sorry, but I won't. I'm** _ **not sorry**_ **. I got to experience a** _ **normal**_ **college experience, and I don't regret. But what I** _ **do**_ **regret is hurting you. I never meant to make you feel, for even a second, like I abandoned you. You're my little cousin, and I care for you. I want to know what I missed out on, what you've been through in the past four years, but you keep** _ **pushing me**_ **away!" by the end of his lengthy ranter, he was out of breath, exhaling roughly from his nostrils.**

Percy grudgingly said, "For once, I feel for Sam."

"Yeah, throw him a bone already," Jason nodded in agreement with Percy.

"I don't care. I just want to know what Liv's hiding," Travis shrugged, it was no secret that he's a nosy person, and Travis and Connor couldn't help but grab the opportunity to unravel secrets.

Athena scowled, "Olivia is acting harsh. Samuel has every right to receive a proper education and make something of himself. In my opinion, Dean and Olivia are holding him back of his true potential."

"Nobody asked you," Aphrodite mumbled under her breath for only Ares to hear, glaring daggers at the goddess of wisdom she had yet to forgive.

" **If you cared so much, the least you could've done, was picked up the damn phone," Liv retorted, not missing a beat.**

"And another point for Liv," Thalia drawled.

"I still find it hard to believe that Liv can use cellphones without calling attention to nearby monsters," Percy shook his head in amazement.

Hecate frowned, inclining her head towards the son of Poseidon, "Yes, the boy makes an excellent point."

" **Sam, Liv, enough," Dean authoritatively snapped. "We'll discuss this later. Right now, we've got a case in this town and we need to solve it before anyone else dies.** _ **Okay**_ **? So whatever problem you have with each other, deal with it on your own time. Now, let's get back to work before any of the guests downstairs walks in on us."**

"This one has sense," Hera nodded approvingly.

Piper smirked at Annabeth, Rachel and Katie, "He's also real easy on the eyes, eh?"

Percy, Travis and Jason spluttered in harmony.

"Sam's hotter," Clarisse voiced out her opinion.

It was Chris' turn to splutter at his girlfriend and a barely audible growl permeated the air from a certain war god – a growl detected by only Aphrodite.

 **Nonchalantly, Liv shrugged while Sam reluctantly nodded. With one last glare towards an indifferent Liv, Sam spoke up in a voiced of forced calm, "Okay, so, according to the legend, the person who says B-" He paused and stared hesitantly at his reflection as the medicine cabinet was open with the mirror inches from his face. Closing it, he continued, "The person who says** _ **you know what**_ **gets it. But here-"**

The Stolls, Chris, Leo, Percy and Rachel stifled their laughter at Sam's comical reaction to the mirror.

" **Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah," Dean finished for him. He threw a side-glance at Liv, who was staring at the dried blood on the floor with a bored expression. Sighing, Dean expressed, "Never heard anything like that before. Still, the guy** _ **did**_ **die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right. The way the legend goes,** _ **you know who**_ **scratches your eyes out."**

"It's like Bloody Mary's the new Voldemort," Rachel giggled.

Her friends gaped at her.

Sheepishly, Rachel grinned, "It was too good an opportunity to pass. I _had_ to say it."

"No comment," Thalia stated.

" _Children_ ," Hera acerbically muttered to herself as she rubbed her temples in exasperation.

" **It could just be a copycat," Liv abruptly suggested, eyebrows raised. "I mean, if the legend's real, why haven't my eyes been clawed out? Maybe it's a ghostly copycat."**

Persephone sighed. "If Olivia never attempted this _game_ ," she crinkled her nose in distaste, "then she would not be so cynical."

"It's a natural reaction," Apollo put in, smiling winsomely.

"Pathetic mortal minds," Dionysus drawled lazily.

A profusely red Rachel had to bite the inside of her cheeks to suppress her disrespectful retort.

Percy however, didn't share Rachel's sense of self-preservation. "Actually, that's not exactly true, Mr. D. You gods have proven to be just _as_ cynical as mortals, if not maybe more."

Burying his face in his open palms, Poseidon groaned into them.

Amphitrite and Triton adorned identical commiserating expressions.

"Say that again, _Perseus Jackson_ ," Zeus spat out, a daring glint in his electric-blue orbs.

"What? I didn't say anything wrong, and I wasn't trying to be disrespectful," Percy shrugged a shoulder, the act screaming unconcerned and nonchalant. "I'm speaking out of experience. No offense, especially to you Lord Zeus-"

It was Thalia, Jason, Annabeth, Nico and Grover's turn to groan, loudly.

"-but you have a habit of burying your head under the sand and remaining cynical when it comes to something you don't want to hear, or admit to," the son of Poseidon revealed.

Zeus arched an eyebrow, his face one of fake calm, "Oh, and you have experience, do you?"

Before his brother could lash out, Poseidon hastened to inquire, "Would you care to elaborate, Percy?"

"I once brought up something important to Zeus' attention, a calamitous matter that affected the world, but he brushed it off and treated my warning with skepticism and then denial," Percy hesitantly admitted, prompting the gods to exchange startled, wide-eyed stares, grossly taken aback by his words.

" _And_?" Hera urged, a feeling of dread consuming her.

Percy grimaced and pursed his lips together. It was only Annabeth shoving him from behind that prompted him to spill the beans. "And… well, by the time you were ready to listen to what I had to say, it was too late," he ominously confessed.

Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, Demeter whispered, "You do not mean-"

" _Demeter_!" Zeus harshly silenced his sister. "Do _not_ say it."

The son of Poseidon rolled his eyes and muttered, "That was your exact reaction in the future."

Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera traded wary glances upon overhearing Percy's grumpy statement and subsequently, looked to Zeus, who was red-faced, his grip tightening around his Master Bolt. "We'll discuss this later. Let us proceed with current events," Zeus commanded, leaving absolutely no room for a refusal. His siblings and children didn't dare to disobey. _'He is gone for good! There is no way… Impossible!_ '

 **Appeasing her, Sam neutrally said, "It's worth checking in to."**

 **The scene rapidly shifted to the hallway, showing the visible legs of a woman from the knee down, approaching before it alternated back to the Winchesters, all three of whom were leaving the bathroom.**

"Who's that girl?" Leo piped up.

Nonplussed shrugs met his inquiry.

 **The trio were accosted at the end of the hallway by Donna's friend. "What are doing up here?" she suspiciously demanded.**

" _Uh-oh_ …" Connor muttered.

Travis smirked, " _Busted_."

Katie rolled her eyes and smacked the Stolls lightly across the head.

" _Katie_!" they whined.

" **We-we, had to go to the bathroom," a nervous Dean made up.**

 **Shaking her head at Dean, Liv muttered under her breath, "Smooth."**

"That was a lame cover-up," Hermes clucked his tongue.

Thalia snorted, "He couldn't come up with anything a bit more believable? Who's gonna believe the three of them had to go at the same time?!"

"Better than three people drowning in a bathtub at the same time," Percy teased, nudging a flushed Grover.

"Can you let it go already," the satyr whined.

Annabeth chuckled, "Never."

"Awh, come on, G-Man. It's one of our most memorable moments," Percy smirked, patting him on the back.

 **The girl's eyes narrowed, "Who** _ **are**_ **you?"**

" **Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad," Dean firmly stated, his bravado returning.**

 **Hands on her hips, she revealed, "He was a day trader or something. He worked by himself."**

"Okay, definitely busted," Travis parroted.

Throwing his arms over his head and making a cutting motion, Leo wailed, "Abort! A- _bort_!"

"It'll be amusing to see how they get themselves out of this one," Frank grinned.

 **Dean's stutter made a comeback, "No, I know, I meant-"**

" **And all those questions downstairs, what was that?" the girl interjected, every word laced with suspicion. "So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming."**

"Bitch much?" Rachel sneered.

"Playing devil's advocate here, the girl kinda has the right," Chris hesitantly expressed his opinion. "I mean, three strangers appear out of nowhere, claiming they knew the deceased guy… her reaction is completely natural."

Thalia shrugged, her chin jutted in Rachel's direction, "She's still a bitch."

 **Liv growled and went to take a step toward her, but Dean quickly held her back, hand locked around her forearm. The girl's eyes widened with a hint of fear at Liv. "I don't take well to threats or ultimatums, Barbie!"**

Hermes, Apollo and Aphrodite exchanged amused smiles – another trait Olivia shared with Ares.

 **Cutting in before a full-scale argument could break out, Sam adopted a soothing tone, "All right, all right. We think something happened to Donna's dad."**

" **Yeah, a stroke," the girl said, still observing Liv with wary eyes. Sam shook his head, "That's not a sign of a typical stroke. We think it might be something else."**

"Are they going to tell her?" Hazel inquired, her tone mildly disapproving, "Because if they're planning on telling, Lily's the one who deserves to know. Or Donna. Not this… stranger."

Frank, however, thought differently, "Actually, I think it's best if Lily never finds out. The guilt would eat at her."

The daughter of Pluto whirled around to face her boyfriend, a frown puckering on her forehead, "But she deserves to know the truth."

"She's only _twelve_. It's a fragile age to be told that you kind of assisted in your father's murder," was the immediate retort.

Like a tennis match, thirty-four pairs of eyes watched, in a variety of emotions, as the Roman couple heatedly argued back and forth.

" _Fragile age_?! Twelve can be claimed to be when demigods are of age. If Thalia had the strength and bravery to accept her death at that age and sacrifice herself for her friends' safety, and if Percy can accept his first quest, which turned out to be suicidal, at the exact same age, then I'm sure Lily can stomach the fact that she played an accidental part in her father's death," Hazel ranted, deeply breathing in and out upon the cessation of her impressive speech.

Simultaneously, Zeus and Poseidon's intense gaze traveled towards their respective child and Jason grimaced and reached out to tightly grip Thalia's hand. This prompted Thalia and Percy to swivel their heads toward Hazel and groan out, "Leave me out of it!" They looked at each other, pursed their lips and then shook their head, not in the mood to initiate a 'jinx' battle.

"You're confusing humans with demigods, Haze," Frank smiled softly, a great deal calmer. "We're immediately thrown into a world of sacrifice and battle and death and survival. Lily's just a girl going through her first embarrassing crush and who, before her dad died, her biggest problem was… whatever normal twelve-year-old girls worry about," he shrugged.

Guilt marred Hazel's lovely features, "I barely spend time around humans, I guess I lost touch with civilization."

"We'll fix that," Frank promised, pecking her forehead.

The love goddess was beaming as she leaned into her lover's side, "Oh, he's so much like you, darling. Only you have the talent to calm me down."

Ares' sweet rejoinder was drowned out by Rachel's affronted, " _Hey_! What am I? _Chopped liver_?"

Hazel grinned sheepishly at the Oracle.

"You don't count, Red," Clarisse grunted.

"Wow, thanks," Rachel dryly retorted, her lips subtly tugging upwards.

 **The blonde frowned, finally tearing her gaze from Liv to look questioningly at Sam, "Like what?"**

" **Honestly? We don't know yet," Sam shook his head and sighed. "But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth."**

 **Dean nodded and firmly added, "So, if you're gonna scream, go right ahead." Liv started to make a disapproving sound but Dean yanked her arm, shaking her lightly and prompting her to snap her mouth shut and pout.**

"Such a stubborn girl," Persephone fondly uttered.

' _Like her father,'_ reverberated through the heads of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia, Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite.

 **Her suspicious disposition wearing off, the blonde tentatively inquired, "Who are you, cops?"**

 **Sam and Dean looked at each other, but Liv beat them to it. "Whatever floats your boat," she shrugged. Dean groaned loudly and shook her again, "** _ **Olivia**_ **!"**

"Oohh, using full names now," Connor whistled.

"Dean never calls her Olivia. Meaning she's in deep water," Percy sympathized. "My mother never calls me Perseus unless she's really mad."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face, "Which rarely _ever_ happens."

"Yeah, I've never seen Sally get mad at anyone," Nico smirked, his expression wistful.

Seeing his sister nod in wholehearted agreement, Jason felt a pang of jealousy at the close bond the Greeks shared with one another. He hadn't met Percy's mother yet – who, according to many, had taken the role of the demigods' surrogate mother, and always welcomed any stray demigod into her home with open arms. But Jason, while hitting the year mark of befriending the Greeks, was still relatively new, and he wasn't as close with his cousins, like Thalia was.

Poseidon's handsome face lit up upon hearing the many wonderful compliments the demigods had for his previous lover. From the second he laid eyes on her, Poseidon knew she was a special mortal, and he was right – she was a compassionate, dedicated, and loving mother… only the best for his son.

"Never mind that," Dionysus batted a hand in the air, his newly conjured wine magazine closed and perched on his lap. "Define the expression 'whatever floats your boat'. I do not recall to have ever heard that one."

Chris uncertainly glanced at his girlfriend, who shrugged, before meeting the wine god's intrigued purple orbs. "Basically, it means whatever makes you happy or whatever you feel like doing," he offered an abridged response.

"Fascinating. Slang these days…" Dionysus trailed off in contemplation, purposely overlooking Hera's distasteful sneer.

Apollo grinned from ear to ear, "You could've asked me, D. I've used the expression loads of times."

"Same," Hermes smirked, slapping hands with Apollo.

 **Shaking his head at his cousin's behavior, Sam reached into his pocket, "I'll tell you what… Here." He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled onto it before handing it over to the uncertain blonde. "If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything** _ **strange**_ **, out of the ordinary…just give us a call."**

 **Huffing, Liv stormed down the hallway and, sparing the confused girl an apologetic look, Dean and Sam followed her.**

"Temper, temper," Apollo drawled.

Hermes mock tutted, "She needs to start attending anger management sessions."

" _Shut it_ ," Ares growled.

Adopting a look of pure innocence, Apollo lightly said, "Why Ares, why so annoyed? We weren't talking about you. Your _daughter_ on the other hand-"

"I said, _shut it_!" the war god firmly repeated through clenched teeth.

"Boys! Stop teasing your brother," Zeus rebuked them. "I never had to deal with such puerile behavior when you were _toddlers_ ," he complained.

Apollo and Hermes simply smirked – they did enjoy riling up their stoic father. It was one of their favorite pastimes.

 **The scene changed; the Winchesters were strolling towards the library, their surroundings rather dark despite it being morning.**

Annabeth and Athena suddenly looked eager as the library building loomed closer.

" **All right, say Bloody Mary really** _ **is**_ **haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof – Like a local woman who died nasty," Dean suggested. Sam nodded and joined the brainstorming session, "Yeah, but a legend this widespread it's hard. I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride-**

" _A mutilated bride_!?" Aphrodite shrieked, her expression aghast.

 **-there's a lot more."**

 **Liv, who had been walking in front of them, her expression still surly, opened the door of the library as Dean said, "All right so what are we supposed to be looking for?"**

"Do not tell me they are planning to research every single Mary that ever lived and died in that town?" Hecate rhetorically inquired, taken aback by their dedication. "Mary is a generic name. It'll take too long!"

Thalia grunted in agreement, "While the hunting part is awesome, the research part's a bitch."

" _Language_!" Hera scolded, eyeing her husband's illegitimate daughter in disapproval.

"Yes… _mother_ ," Thalia retorted, sarcastically.

" **Every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. So we've gotta search local newspapers – public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill," Sam proposed.**

 **Dean scowled, dragging a hand through his hair, "That sounds annoying."**

"It's a shortcut at least," Ariadne attempted to look at the bright side.

" **Lucky for you," Liv finally spoke up, turning to look at them. "I learned from the best. Uncle John drilled 'research' in my head. After Bloody Mary was a no show, I researched further and other than her name being Mary…** _ **duh**_ **, most legends claim her last name was Worth."**

Rachel nodded; she's been doing a lot of that lately, that she's beginning to feel like one of those annoying bobble heads. "I found the same thing."

"It could be an alias," Triton lightly suggested.

"Or a diminutive of her surname," Dionysus absentmindedly drawled from behind his magazine, surprising everyone with his participation.

 **Sam's face broke out into a smile and he gazed at his grumpy cousin with approval, "That's good, that's-" A humorless chuckle emanated from his lips at the sight before them. Every single computer had a sign on them, saying 'Out of Order'. "Dean's right. This will be very annoying."**

"They should invest in laptops," Hermes matter-of-factly commented.

Apollo cocked his head to the side. "I'm sure one of them must have a laptop. At this day and age, _everyone_ carries around laptops!" he incredulously exclaimed.

Nico and Hazel had confusion written all over their faces.

"We don't," Nico gestured towards himself and his half-sister.

"Yeah, yeah, demigods and technology don't mix. But you've used one before, right?" Apollo inquired, curiously and a bit desperately.

Hazel slowly shook her head, "No. Never."

A dramatic gasp escaped Hermes lips, " _Sacrilege_!"

Hades frowned at his children; _'I'll have to change that._ "

 **The scene shifted to the blonde girl that confronted the Winchesters. She was talking on her cellphone while driving. "I'm not sure. They were cops or detectives or something."**

"That's dangerous. Last I checked… ya know, out of curiosity… Statistics say that using a cellphone while driving leads to 1.6 _million_ crashes _a year_!" Rachel exclaimed, her face screaming disapproval.

Clarisse rolled her eyes, "You're such a goody two-shoes."

The Oracle responded by sticking her tongue out at the daughter of Ares.

 **The scene then began alternating between her and the other blonde who was at the funeral with Donna and Lily; she was in her room, taking off her sweater. Smirking lewdly, she spoke into the phone, "Whoever they were, they were cute. The guys I mean. The girl's hot, but I don't swing that way." She winked.**

"She's so hot, I wouldn't be surprised if she turns straight girls just by batting her eyelashes," Leo murmured cheekily to Jason, who bobbed his head in wholehearted agreement.

Thalia and Piper rolled their eyes in unison.

The war god's jaw tensed, his teeth clenched at the continuous remarks made about the _runt_.

" **Jill," the other blonde sighed, the sound fond.**

Nico was torn between feeling disturbed and being in awe; over three years had passed since leaving the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and the son of Hades had yet to get used to homosexual references and the fact that people of the twenty-first century mostly accepted same sex relationships, to the point where it's being nonchalantly discussed between friends with utmost impartiality.

Shaking his head, Nico returned his focus to the screen. He could feel a few gazes burning into him, almost as though they could read his mind – Will's in particular, and he wasn't in the mood to begin another debate about embracing himself and letting go of the stigma of the thirties.

 **Jill scoffed and teasingly retorted, "You didn't think so?"**

 **The girl rolled her eyes, "Yeah okay they were cute. The girl's scary though." She shook her head, "** _ **Still**_ **, do you think something happened to Donna's dad?"**

"I'm sick of calling her 'the blonde' in my head," Rachel murmured mostly to herself.

Connor smirked, "She looks like a Debbie. I'll just call her Deb in my head until they reveal it."

The Oracle playfully shoved Connor, expression fond as she snuggled into him.

" _Children_ ," Hera parroted in irritation.

" **Maybe Lily was right. Maybe Bloody Mary got him," Jill shrugged, her tone almost glib. The scene alternated to the blonde again, not the least bit amused. "** _ **Ha ha**_ **, very funny," she scoffed in disbelief.**

 **Jill smirked into the phone. "Wait, I'm sorry. Was that fear I hear in your voice?" she teased.**

"That mortal is making light of a hazardous and strongly unpredictable situation," Hades uttered in disapprobation, a heavy scowl imprinted on his smooth, alabaster forehead.

Rachel curled into herself again, seeing the similarities between herself and Jill.

A low sigh fanned her neck that was quickly followed by one strong arm wrapping itself around her waist as Connor pulled her even closer to his side, resting his cheek against the crown of her head. Rachel's heart swelled and her fondness for the younger Stoll surged when he chose not to comment and instead, offer her silent comfort.

 **The blonde responded in negative, the word sounding brittle, prompting Jill's smirk to widen. "Charlie, I'm walking to the bathroom mirror now," she said in a singsong voice as she stepped past the bathroom's threshold.**

"Huh," Connor frowned lightly. "I was so sure she looked like a Debbie."

An unladylike snort passed through Katie's lips as she stared at her boyfriend's little brother in amusement, " _How exactly_ does someone look like a name?"

Connor shrugged, sapphires twinkling with mirth. "They just do," he retorted, being deliberately unhelpful and vague.

" _Idiot_ ," Thalia grumbled, hiding a smile behind a hand.

Rachel giggled and pressed herself closer to Connor. Trust Connor to be the one that knew how to effortlessly brighten her mood.

"She's not going to do it, right?" Hazel meekly voiced out, reminding everyone of the situation at hand and that Jill had daringly approached the bathroom mirror to summon Bloody Mary _just_ for the sake of proving a point.

A tension-filled silence blanketed the room at the sudden realization.

" **Jill,** _ **quit it**_ **!" Charlie snapped from the other end, her hands tightening on the steering wheel.**

 **Alternating back to Jill's bathroom, she stared at her reflection, eyes sparkling with mirth and lips spread into a cocky grin, the phone sitting between her ear and shoulder. "Oh no, I can't help myself. I'm gonna say it. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary," she confidently blurted out.**

Sharp intakes of breath echoed in the room and both Rachel and Hazel held their breath, fearing the spirit's retaliation.

"Stupid girl," Dionysus drawled, peering at the screen from over his magazine, and while the tone used was sharp, the insult didn't hold enough heat.

Apollo and Hermes didn't bother making a flippant comment in regards to Dionysus _actually_ caring for the mortal girl as they sat on the edge of their thrones in suspense, waiting.

 **Back to Charlie, there was a long silence on the other end. "Jill?" Nothing. "** _ **Jill**_ **?!" she shrieked hysterically. Suddenly, Jill laughed loudly, the camera homing in on her, "You're such a freak, I'll call you tomorrow." She hung up on Charlie and tossed her phone onto her bed.**

"Bad, bad feeling," Rachel murmured into Connor's chest.

Katie frantically nodded, "Tell me about it."

 **Jill strode over to her closet and opened the door, displaying a mirror in the interior of the closet door. Bloody Mary flashed in the mirror just as Jill closed the door.**

Annabeth, Rachel, Hazel, Piper and Katie shrieked in alarm at the frightful image Bloody Mary posed and even Grover bleated in fear.

The boys and Thalia, on the other hand, jumped, startled, their wide eyes trained on the screen.

" _Di immortales_ ," Ariadne murmured in a hush, tightly clutching onto Dionysus' arm and therefore, forcing him to abandon his _scintillating_ magazine.

Unlike the demigods, the Oracle and the satyr, the gods expressed their alarm in a more dignified manner, with Ariadne, Persephone, Amphitrite and Aphrodite grabbing onto the arm of their respective husband/lover.

 **She went to her vanity and sat down; she removed her earrings without looking over at the mirror in front of her where, Bloody Mary had appeared for a split-second before morphing back into Jill's reflection. Standing, Jill walked past the TV screen in her bedroom and retraced her steps into the bathroom, bending over the sink to wash her face. However, while Jill remained bent over the sink, her reflection stayed standing.**

Thalia actually jumped backwards, creating a subtle distance between her and the screen, eyes wide at the freaky sight.

"Okay that's spooky," a quiver could be detected in Leo's voice and he wasn't even ashamed of his reaction.

Jason gladly welcomed Piper to snuggle deeper into his arms, as did Percy, Travis and Frank with their respective girlfriends.

"I-I don't g-get i-it," Rachel stuttered, digging her fingernails into her jeans-cladded thighs. "I mean, sh-shouldn't Bloody Mary be in the mirror?"

Apollo frowned, contemplating hard over a sudden epiphany. "I'll get back to you on that, Rachel," he addressed his Oracle, both his eyes and the tone of his voice distracted.

Artemis instantly recognized her brother's mood; he was pensive, a disposition that usually struck him whenever he made the decision to attempt to solve a puzzle or riddle presented to him. Despite appearances and the shallowness he, at times, exuded, Artemis knew her twin adored unwrapping enigmas.

 **Looking up, Jill started panicking as her reflection scrutinized her with eerie eyes, blood oozing down from them. Hesitantly, Jill reached up with her hand and felt blood trickling down her on face. "You did it. You killed that boy," her reflection ominously declared.**

"WHAT?" Rachel, Thalia, Katie, Percy and Leo yelled, confused and frightened.

Hera quickly made a hushing sound, halting anyone from making any further comments, too engrossed with the events playing out.

 **As though she were being strangled to death, Jill collapsed onto the ground in hysterics while her reflection calmly watched her with emotionless eyes.**

 **The scene turned black.**

Nearly everyone jumped when Apollo abruptly clapped his hands together, the echoing noise snapping everyone out of their shock and slightly startling them.

"Apollo!" Hera chastised him, a hand on her chest.

"I got it!" Apollo enthusiastically announced, looking pleased with himself despite the morbid scene. "According to folklore, mirrors reveal all your lies and secrets… like a, like a reflection of your soul. This must be how Bloody Mary's victims are targeted. Why you need to be standing in front of a mirror."

Aphrodite grinned, "You genius."

"God of Knowledge, Aff," Apollo smirked proudly, casually jabbing his temple with his pointer finger.

Athena sneered and parted her lips to spew forth an acidic comeback, but surprisingly, Annabeth interjected, quickly expressing her confusion before her mother could instigate another dispute. "I don't get it," Annabeth shyly stared at Apollo; she wasn't only seeing a different side to Apollo, the bachelor god and eternal flirt, but, to her distraught, her mother as well.

Another unanticipated notion, Aphrodite kindly offered the daughter of Athena with the explanation she desired, "Jill's reflection claimed her to be responsible for a death. There's a probability that Bloody Mary targets mortals with dark secrets."

"But it's all merely conjecture," Poseidon hastened to add, looking over at Apollo who rapidly nodded in agreement.

"The most feasible one," Will pointed out.

The sun god winked at his son.

"Don't be cocky, Apollo," Athena hissed through clenched teeth.

Grinning languidly at the irritable goddess, Apollo casually retorted, "Don't be jealous, Athy."

" _Don't. Call. Me. That_!" she snarled, a hand slamming down onto the arm of her throne.

Eyes brimming with unshed tears, Annabeth drowned out Apollo's teasing rejoinder and buried her head into her crossed arms, which were propped by her knees. The pitying glances of her friends bore into the back of her head and Percy let out a sad sigh, forcefully lifting her head up and gathering her into his arms, his embrace warm and secure. "Annabeth, talk to me," he softly urged her.

"I've always prided myself for being a daughter of the wisdom goddess. Now…now I'm ashamed," she feebly confessed. "And what's worse? I don't know if she's always been that way in the future and I was too blind and proud to see it."

Leaning forward, Thalia gripped both her hands. "Hey, hey, hey. Nobody's perfect. All of us admit that our godly parent has flaws…well, except Percy, the lucky a-hole," she teased, prompting a " _hey_ " from the aforementioned and a shaky chuckle out of Annabeth. "I mean, look at _my_ dad!" she continued.

"Besides, Athena's not the only one that surprised us," Nico pointed out, smiling. "Since when has Apollo been anything but a flirt, or reciting annoying haikus?"

Pressing a kiss onto Annabeth's forehead, Percy elaborated, "What Thalia and Nico are trying to say, is that, right now, in the predicament we're in, we're being given a chance to see the gods in a completely different perspective. I mean, ignoring Ares' harsh comments, he's actually tolerable. I look at him and I don't see the cruel, arrogant, backstabbing god I first met during our first quest."

Sniffling, Annabeth nodded and with a small smile, she rested her head against Percy's chest.

"Children?" The demigods' quiet discussion was broken by Poseidon's familiar rich baritone, a flash of concern passing through his sea-green eyes. "Is everything all right?" he inquired, compassionate eyes fixated on Annabeth in particular, eyes that held an almost knowing quality.

Deliberately avoiding her mother's penetrating gaze, Annabeth smiled tightly, "Yes. Thank you."

 **Suddenly, the scene opened on Jessica's flame-engulfed body, "Why Sam?" pervading the air before Sam's eyes snapped open.**

"Until he talks about whatever is bothering him, those dreams will not go away," Demeter sympathized.

" **Why'd you let me fall asleep?" he grumbled, rubbing his groggy eyes and sitting up on the bed.**

 **From over the table, where Liv and Dean sat pouring through reports, Liv promptly replied, "You were beginning to look like a zombie."**

Cue amused chuckles.

 **Dean fondly elbowed her and said, "No. It's 'cause I'm an awesome brother. So what did you dream about?"**

 **Sam deadpanned, "Lollipops and candy canes."**

"My favorite dreams," Travis smirked, propping his chin on the crown of Katie's head and twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.

"I prefer the ones about unicorns and rainbows and fluffy puppies," Rachel playfully countered.

Connor played along, "You're both wrong. Cheeseburgers and pizzas are the best ones."

"How about you three losers discuss your dreams in your own time and _shush_ ," Thalia snapped.

Wide eyes trained on the daughter of Zeus, Annabeth mockingly wailed, "You're beginning to sound like your evil stepmother."

Thalia mock-gasped, eyes wide with horror, "You dare!"

Hera scowled at the two girls and it was only the soothing circles Zeus rubbed into her wrist with his thumb that assuaged her fury.

 **Dean snickered. Sam got out of bed and approached his brother and cousin, joining them at the table. "Did you find anything?" he asked.**

" **Oh besides a whole new level of frustration?" Dean sarcastically retorted. "No. We've looked at everything. A few local women, a Laura and a Catherine committed suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave, but uh, no Mary."**

"At the risk of sounding insensitive, but death due to a giant mirror falling on you is cartoon worthy," Leo chuckled.

Three smacks collided against the son of Hephaestus' head, courtesy of Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel.

" _Ouch_! What was that for?!" he groused, rubbing the back of his head and pouting at the three angry girls.

" _That_ was for being insensitive," Hazel snapped, gold eyes sparkling with irritation.

Piper shook her head, "Insensitive is an understatement."

"I really felt like hitting something and you provided me with the perfect opportunity to let off some steam," Annabeth drawled out, shrugging for emphasis.

"You're evil," Leo exaggerated.

Frank, Percy and Jason chuckled.

Leo gasped in mock appallment, "And you three are _traitors_!" He pointed an accusing finger at the three of them.

"You did deserve it," Jason shrugged.

" _Children_ ," Hera groaned for the umpteenth time, rubbing her temples.

" **Dave's unfortunate demise got us sidetracked-" Dean pointedly cleared his throat. Rolling her eyes, Liv conceded, "Fine…** _ **I**_ **got sidetracked. I just wondered out loud if anyone was crushed to death by a piano falling on them so I did a little research on the side…" She trailed off sheepishly.**

 **Blinking in disbelief, Sam gaped at her, "Please tell me you're joking?"**

"She's just too precious," Apollo chortled, amusement coloring his features.

A longing sigh escaped Aphrodite's pouty lips as she leaned into Ares' side. She truly despised the Ancient Laws Zeus forced upon them. She yearned to raise or at least _visit_ all her children, and be a part of their lives, be around for all the milestones they would inevitably go through, protect them from monsters and those that wished them harm, hopefully attend their weddings and embrace her grandchildren… unfortunately, she was forced to be an absentee mother, enforced by the accursed Law to observe her demigod offspring live and die from afar, to hear her children refer to her a 'no-show' and worse of all, claim to be 'abandoned' by her. And contrary to popular belief, Aphrodite held no malignant thoughts of her lover's demigod offspring.

In a perfect world, Aphrodite and Ares would raise their offspring together and protect them from the world they were cursed to be born into, devote themselves to their children and shower them with affection. Aphrodite learned to bury her desires and yearnings deep down throughout the millennia, however… being around this group of demigods, and observing the enchanting Olivia Winchester, Aphrodite's dreams resurged, consuming her with a despondent feeling.

She hoped that revoking the Ancient Laws happened to be one of the Fates' goals.

"Sweetheart, what is it?"

Ares' husky voice snapped her to attention and she smiled tightly, shaking her head and patting his hand, "It's nothing."

The war god didn't look convinced, but he decided to let it go for now. He'd ask her in private.

" **Liv we're on a strict deadline here," Sam continued to voice his disbelief.**

 **Fidgeting in her seat, her face the picture of guilt, Liv pouted and whined, "Blame my ADHD, Sammy. I couldn't help it."**

"Yeah, but with the dyslexia, my first choice for a distraction wouldn't be _more_ research," Percy groaned incredulously, furiously rubbing his eyes to prove his point.

Ariadne smiled compassionately, "Yes, but do not forget that Olivia was raised to be a hunter. Researching must not be a tedious task to her as opposed to you."

"Olivia must have trained herself," Hecate added, her expression pensive. "While she may be held back by her dyslexia, I do not believe she struggles to read and comprehend English like you and your friends, Perseus."

"Lucky," Piper sighed wistfully.

Annabeth shrugged, "I've gotten better at reading English."

"Of course you have, you're a nerd," Thalia teased, her lips spread into a wide grin.

" **I got her covered," Dean put in, defending Liv and switching Sam's attention onto him. "While Liv was busy with her completely useless project-" Liv stuck her tongue out at Dean, "-I searched for strange deaths in the area, you know… eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary."**

 **Liv interposed, "In other words, maybe I'm right and it's a copycat."**

"Could Liv be right, is it a copycat?" an uncertain Rachel inquired.

Contemplative, Hermes bit the inside of his cheek, "Anything's possible. Right now, all we can do is keep guessing."

"Unless you'd prefer to do a little research of your own?" Apollo challenged, his bright blues sparkling with humor.

" _No_!" the demigods exclaimed in unison, all except one.

"Well…" Annabeth trailed off, biting the bottom of her lip. "It could be interesting-"

Whatever she said next, it wasn't intelligible as it came out muffled due to Percy's hand. "Annabeth, why must you torture us?" he dramatically whined.

Poseidon, Apollo, Hermes, Triton, Persephone, Ariadne, Aphrodite and Demeter chuckled at the demigods' antics; Hestia beamed brightly, warms orbs observing them with a certain fondness.

"Say one more word and I'll hurt you, Annie," Thalia halfheartedly threatened.

Annabeth stuck her tongue out and licked Percy's hand.

" _Arghh_!" Percy yelped, removing his hand from Annabeth's mouth and wiping off the wetness on his jeans.

The daughter of Athena rolled her eyes, "You guys should join the theatre, go for tryouts. Bunch of drama queens, the lot of you."

The Sea God's eyes twinkled at her direction; never before would he have imagined being able to tolerate an offspring of Athena's.

 **Sam looked at Liv indecisively just as his cellphone started to ring. Frowning at it, he answered the call, "Hello?" A look of concern came across his face and the scene turned black.**

"A drachma says it's Charlie," Connor speculated out loud.

Travis rolled his eyes at his brother, "That'd be giving you easy money, Con."

"Rob me of my fun, why don't ya," Connor grumbled to himself.

Katie shot him an incredulous look, "You mean rob _us_ of our money."

Connor responded by sticking his tongue out at her.

Hermes' eyes glimmered with potent affection as he witnessed his sons' antics.

 **The scene commenced at a park bench where a crying Charlie sat, the Winchesters surrounding her, with Dean standing behind her and Sam and Liv sitting on either side of her.**

"If you kept your mouth shut, I'd've made easy money," Connor grumbled to his brother.

Amused, Clarisse smirked, "You know we can _all_ hear you, right?"

Connor blinked at her, confused, "What's your point?"

" _Ughh_! You're hopeless," the daughter of Ares groaned into her hand while the other demigods, Rachel and Grover chuckled at their expense and the gods observed them with amusement.

Even Ares found it difficult to suppress a smile.

"… **and they found her on the bathroom floor. And her-her eyes. They were** _ **gone**_ **!" she wailed.**

Cue flinches and revolted expressions.

"But the other guy, Shoemaker, he still had his eyes, didn't he?" Leo gaped at the screen.

" **And she said it," she added pitifully. Dean, Liv and Sam exchanged** _ **a look**_ **. "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of** _ **that**_ **. I'm insane, right?"**

 **Dean offered her a comforting smile, "No, you're not insane."**

 **Charlie hiccupped, "Oh, God, that makes me feel so much worse."**

 **Liv smirked at Dean before focusing on Charlie, "Don't worry about it, we're all a bit insane."**

"Is that supposed to make her feel better?" Hazel skeptically asked the room at large.

Percy shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, when I first saw Grover without pants, I thought I was going insane until my Mom admitted that _yes_ , my best friend _did_ have hooves and hairy legs."

Laughter ensued his comical statement and Grover bleated sarcastically, "That's not funny, Percy."

"I think what Seaweed Brain meant to say, Hazel, is that, being the only insane person would make you feel even more insane," Annabeth translated as throughout the years, she had slowly become an expert in Percy-speech.

"It's like the saying misery loves company… except in this case, it's _insanity_ loves company," Percy grinned from ear to ear, looking adorably goofy.

Poseidon's hearty laughter could easily be made out through the cacophony of the other gods and demigods' laughter.

"Oh gods, Percy, you're such a dork," Annabeth giggled, looking at her boyfriend in adoration.

"But a cute dork, right?" Percy morphed his face into a puppy-dog pout with the eyes and all.

Annabeth covered his face with her hand and laughingly said, "Yes, you are. Very, _very_ adorable. Now quit distracting me with those puppy eyes, you know it's a weakness of mine."

"I do not approve of the intimacy between you two," Athena announced, pointing a stern finger at Percy and then Annabeth while her narrowed eyes never left the former. "Is there something I need to know, Annabeth?"

"No," Annabeth curtly retorted, her tone cold, greatly taking Athena aback.

" **Liv," Dean groaned as Charlie's eyes went wide. Liv responded with a half-shrug and an insincere smile.**

"Liv's mood swings are giving me whiplash," Thalia groaned, a hand on her forehead. "One case she's compassionate and professional, and another she's bitchy and unhelpful."

Aphrodite smiled knowingly. "Oh there are many reasons for her current behavior. It's because of her previous argument with Samuel. Also, the case is sensitive as she played the Bloody Mary game before, so she can't help but be skeptical. Another reason, the most plausible one," and here she looked incredibly amused as she glanced at Ares from her peripheral vision, "is children of Ares usually have a hard time suppressing their anger."

"Affie!" Ares exclaimed.

"Don't give me that, dear. You know I am right," Aphrodite laughed gaily.

Clarisse sheepishly nodded, "I can definitely relate then."

"We know," Percy, Annabeth, the Stolls, Chris, Grover, Will, Katie and Rachel intoned in amusement.

"Shut up," Clarisse murmured.

 **Giving his cousin one last disapproving look, Sam addressed Charlie, "Look. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained."**

" **And we're gonna stop it but we could use your help," Dean added.**

 **The scene instantly shifted to show Charlie entering Jill's room and locking the door behind her. She then strode over to the window and opened it. Sam entered first, followed by Liv and lastly Dean with a duffel bag. Grabbing the bag, Sam set it on the bed and started to root through it.**

" **What did you tell Jill's mom?" Sam asked.**

"Oh, so _that's_ what they meant when they said they needed her help," Leo muttered, a disappointed look suddenly taking over his visage. "I thought it'd be something big."

Percy snorted. "Like what? Get her to summon Bloody Mary so that they could finally get rid of her for good?" he sarcastically suggested.

"As if," Thalia chuckled, shaking her head at Percy.

Athena looked pensive. "For once the sea spawn speaks sense," she carelessly waved a hand at the son of Poseidon's direction.

Spluttering for a brief moment, Percy exclaimed, "I was being _sarcastic_."

"Then that means your mind operates best through sarcasm," Athena blandly stated. "Nonetheless, your _unintentional_ suggestion has merits," she nonchalantly continued.

Hecate voiced out her disagreement, "Unfortunately, Athena, Bloody Mary's victims aren't necessarily the ones to initially summon her, in accordance with the Shoemakers. If Charlie calls for her, prospect is she would set an unpredictable spirit loose on the town."

Grudgingly, Athena concurred with Hecate's sensible argument.

" **Just that I need some time alone with Jill's pictures and things," Charlie replied, her voice unsteady, and her eyes on Sam, who had pulled a rectangular device out of the duffle bag while in the background, Dean closed the curtains. "I hate lying to her," she mumbled guiltily.**

Hermes shrugged, casually rolling his eyes as he lounged back on his throne, his ankles locked, " _Eh_ , c'est la vie."

Artemis rolled her eyes upon detecting her twin – _'The God of Truth',_ nodding in fervent agreement.

 **Dean distractedly addressed her, "Trust us, this is for the greater good. Hit the lights."**

" _Dumbledore_!" Rachel whooped, her face blushing a profuse red when all eyes settled on her, making her freckles slightly stand out.

Thalia facepalmed, "No comment."

 **Charlie turned off the lights, "What are you guys looking for?"**

" **If you're done with the twenty questions, we can find it," Liv gritted out. Elbowing past a disproving Dean, she snatched the camera from Sam's hand and tweaked with it for a couple of seconds, "There you go…Night vision. Have at it." She handed the camera back to Sam who grinned and nodded in appreciation, "Perfect."**

 **As the camera was aimed at Dean, he cockily grinned, "Do I look like Paris Hilton?"**

The wistful sighs that sprang forth every single male demigod – minus Nico and Will, and Grover was scarcely heard over Annabeth, Piper, Clarisse, Thalia, Katie and Rachel's collective shouting of " _Hate her_!"

For her part, Hazel stared at her girlfriends, nonplussed… _'Who's Paris Hilton?_ ' she mentally wondered.

"Awh come on, chicas," Leo teased, waggling his eyebrows. "Don't hate the girl just 'cause she's one _fine_ blonde bombshell."

Connor clucked his tongue and shook his head in mock-disappointment, "Green's not a good color on you ladies."

"We're not _jealous_!" Katie shot back.

Annabeth fervently agreed, her arms crossed tightly to her chest. "Sorry we have standard," she bitterly snapped.

"That's definitely jealousy talking," Jason murmured.

Piper whipped around to face her boyfriend. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you! Speak louder!" she cupped her ear for emphasis.

"All right now children. Ever heard the saying: 'don't judge a book by its cover'?" Apollo stepped in, an eyebrow arched at the girls. "I'll have you know that Paris is a fascinating young lady with a sharp mind and a _scintillating_ conversationalist."

Artemis rolled her eyes, a knowing look etched all over her features.

The goddess of love grinned mischievously, eyes alight with amusement as she took in the awestruck looks the boys were giving the Sun God, mouths agape and eyes alight with utmost reverence.

"Y-You _know_ Paris Hilton?" Leo squeaked.

Percy hissed under his breath, "Damn. I guess godhood really does have merit."

"Bet you regret turning down the offer now, huh?" Connor smirked.

Annabeth smacked Piper across the head, prompting Percy to glower at the youngest Stoll.

Snickering, Thalia smirked at the son of Poseidon, "You're in the doghouse now, Seaweed Brain."

But before Percy could even begin to apologize to his girlfriend, Zeus' voice boomed out in an amalgamation of confused wonder, "We offered you immortality?!"

It was that incredulous remark that brought the unusual silence of the gods to the demigods, Rachel and Grover's attention, realizing that Percy and Connor's absentminded comment didn't go unheard by the gods.

Grimacing, Percy curtly nodded in affirmative.

To the Olympians, the offer of godhood was an exorbitant reward, and a rare one at that – the offer itself spoke volumes of a demigod's greatness and selflessness and bravery and _courage_ , and the fact that Perseus Jackson, a boy who's birth Zeus and the other Olympians dreaded due to the Great Prophecy, was offered such a benevolent reward, well… let's just say the gods were beginning to become even _more_ concerned over what the future held.

"And you rejected it," the demigods hadn't seen Dionysus portray such genuine interest in all their years of knowing him. His magazine was left discarded on the ground by his feet, and his purple orbs were assessing the son of Poseidon in a way that made Percy feel violated.

Athena scoffed, taking the words right out of her gobsmacked father's mouth. " _Nobody_ rejects godhood. Who are you to refuse such a boon, Perseus Jackson?!" she sneered.

"I don't mean any offense," Percy licked his lips, struggling to maintain a respective tone. "But immortality didn't hold much value to me. It didn't entice me like it did others," and here he stared pointedly at Dionysus, who simply gazed back with fake-boredom. "I asked for an exchange," he shrugged, infuriating the gods with his deliberate vagueness.

"Understatement," the Stolls and Chris scoffed, grinning proudly at Percy.

Before anyone else could cut in with an incredulous comment, especially Uncle P, who looked like he was struggling to maintain a calm composure, Apollo breathed out, "You're it, aren't you? The one the Great Prophecy spoke of…"

As Percy adamantly said, " _No_ ," Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Grover, Chris, the Stolls, Will, Katie, Rachel and Clarisse proudly exclaimed, "Yes!"

The heads belonging to the gods' and the Roman demigods' swiveled from an aggravated Percy to the eleven irritated demigods.

"I'm _not_ the one you guys, it's-"

"Shut _up_ , Percy!" Annabeth demanded, cutting him off. "Yeah you didn't do the ultimate sacrifice, but you _are_ the child of the Big Three the prophecy spoke of. Without you, Olympus _would_ have been razed to the ground."

Amphitrite and Triton stared intensely at Percy, both of them coming to realize that Perseus Jackson _was not_ like the rest of Poseidon's conceited and arrogant demigod offspring.

Thalia emphatically nodded, "You should give yourself more credit. I know you hate attention and praise and all that jazz, but you _are_ a hero, you are _the_ savior. Stop selling yourself short and just accept it."

The sound of somebody clearing their throat echoed in the Throne Room, prompting all eyes to land on the Sea God, who deemed it wise to finally make himself be heard, his inquiry surprising them all as they expected him to demand an explanation regarding Percy's refusal. "I assume you are _not_ about to provide the necessary explanation as to how you were offered immortality and of how the Great Prophecy came to pass?" it was a rhetoric question, but a question nonetheless that demanded some form of answer.

Percy stared at his father with utmost respect and sincere regret, "Sorry. Can't. At least… _not yet_. But once we've got our stories straight, I promise we'll tell you everything."

Poseidon nodded, his indifferent expression blossoming into a warm smile, "Fair enough." … _'I had a feeling Perseus would be a special boy…'_

Leaning forward, Rachel muttered into Katie's ear, "How the hell did we go from bashing Paris Hilton to arguing about the Great Prophecy?"

The daughter of Demeter's expression mirrored the Oracle's flummoxed one. "Beats the Styx out of me," she murmured back.

The Stolls bit the inside of their cheeks to suppress their laughter upon hearing the comments the two girls on either side of them made.

 **Liv snorted, the irritated expression she had been wearing for the majority of the case melting into one of amusement, "Nah. Your ugly mug doesn't hold a candle, Deanie."**

"Now that's a lie," Aphrodite remarked in amusement.

Piper nodded, thinking along the same lines as her mother, "Dean's _gorgeous_!" disregarding Jason's spluttering.

 **Smirking, Dean lightly elbowed past her, "** _ **Ollie**_ **."**

 **She scowled at his back in response before she started to make her way towards the adjoined bathroom as Sam opened Jill's closet and filmed around the mirror. As Liv opened the bathroom door, Sam spoke up, "So I don't get it. I mean… the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?"**

" **Beats me," Dean shrugged.**

The gods and demigods all leaned forward, wanting to arrive to the crux of the matter while wondering if their hypotheses had any merit as Sam listed the same points as them.

 **Stepping into the bathroom, Liv called out, "What I'm wondering is,** _ **why**_ **did Jill say it in the first place."**

 **Meekly, Charlie provided her with a response, "It's just a joke."**

" **Yeah well somebody's gonna say it again, it's just a matter of time," Dean muttered in disapproval as he and Sam followed Liv's footsteps and joined her in the bathroom. "What you got there, Liv?" he suddenly asked, watching Liv closely. Sam joined her in front of the mirror, eyes intent on something that was trickling out from behind the mirror.**

"That's new," Hades murmured, intently gazing at the scene.

Eyes wide, Persephone breathed out, "What _is_ that?"

" **Hey!" Sam called out, prompting Dean and Charlie to look at him inquiringly. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"**

 **The scene abruptly forwarded; Sam was leaving the bathroom, carrying the mirror and dropping it onto Jill's bed. Liv, bringing the rear, flipped the mirror upside down and peeled off the brown paper that coated its back just as Sam shone the black light, revealing a handprint and the words "Gary Bryman" emblazoned onto the back of the mirror.**

"You think the handprint's Bloody Mary's?" Travis uncertainly asked the room at large, looking quite disturbed.

Blinking, a frown of contemplation appeared on Frank's forehead, "What, like, Bloody Mary was _actually_ standing behind the mirror?"

"What you thought it was a mirage?" Thalia snorted sardonically.

Nico dragged both hands through his wavy raven locks and tugged, a noise of frustration escaping his mouth, "Ghosts— spirits— whatever… they supposed to be _intangible_!"

"Key words, Nico: _supposed to be_ ," Hades released a long exhalation of breath.

Rachel vigorously shook her head, her shocking-red locks swinging back and forth in the process, "Forget the creepy handprint for a sec, 'kay? What's with name? Who's Gary Bryman?"

Ares grunted, unable to help but roll his eyes at the Oracle's stupidity. "I thought it was obvious? ...He's obviously the 'him' the mortal's reflection referred to," he apathetically disclosed.

The Oracle sheepishly looked away, avoiding the piercing flaming orbs gazing intently at her. "Okay. Now I feel like the world's biggest moron," Rachel mumbled to herself, fiddling with a loose thread of her ripped jeans to keep herself busy.

"Don't worry, dear. Ares is just in a mood," Aphrodite softly consoled her, throwing a side-glare at her lover who merely rolled his eyes once more.

"Yeah, I didn't piece that together either, Rach," Percy cheered her up.

" _Shocking_ ," Athena sarcastically sneered.

The war god sneered in disgust and aimed a loathsome glare Athena's way. "You didn't come to that conclusion either, Athena. So keep your trap shut!" he barked, growls interspaced in each and every word that was spat out at the wisdom goddess.

Percy and Rachel gaped at Ares in flabbergasted shock.

"Did he just… defend us?" Percy muttered to his friends.

Mouth agape, Rachel wordlessly bobbed her head in affirmative.

Ares grunted and looked away, fists clenched and jaw tensed as he glowered at the screen.

Aphrodite smiled knowingly; the children weren't to know that Ares would forevermore protect anyone when it came to Athena, unless he despised the goddess of wisdom's target as well, namely a common enemy such as the Giants. Suffice to say, Ares and Athena's problems went further than a mere sibling rivalry, but mutual hatred that multiplied and subsequently cemented when Athena conspired with and aided Hercules in killing his son, Kyknos, proving just how much Ares loved his offspring, despite his efforts in portraying otherwise.

" **Gary Bryman," Charlie gasped.**

 **In unison, the Winchesters stared at her, and Sam asked, "You know him?"**

 **But Charlie shook her head, "No."**

"You think she's lying?" Triton questioned.

Bemused shrugs met his inquiry.

A beat later, Apollo firmly voiced his opinion, "Nah. She's telling the truth."

Nobody doubted the God of Truth.

 **The scene shifted, the Winchesters and Charlie were once again, congregated around the park bench.**

" **So, Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy," Sam said from where he stood behind the bench Charlie and Liv were sitting on. "Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver."**

Aphrodite, Persephone, Ariadne, Hera, Demeter and Amphitrite gasped, all of them lifting a hand to cover their mouth.

"Poor child," Hestia mournfully put in.

" **Oh my** _ **God**_ **," Charlie gasped. At Sam's inquiring gaze, she disclosed, "Jill drove that car."**

 **Grimly, Dean stated, "We need to get back to your friend Donna's house."**

"Conclusion, Jill unintentionally killed Gary Bryman, which is why Bloody Mary killed her," Hecate concluded, grimacing.

A deep frown colored Poseidon's aristocratic features, "While abhorrent of Jill to simply flee the scene, death should not be the penalty."

"Oh please. We're not above such actions. We've killed for far less," Athena haughtily interjected.

" _Athena_!" Zeus, Hestia and Hera rebuked her.

The Sea God sneered at her, "Yes, and apparently you do not appear remorseful."

Annabeth winced and looked away, burying herself into Percy's embrace.

 **The scene returned to the familiar surroundings of the bathroom Steven Shoemaker died in. Imitating their previous actions, the Winchesters were huddled around the mirror and hunched over as the black light shone on the back of the mirror, revealing another handprint and the words "Linda Shoemaker".**

" **Suddenly, I'm sensing the Shoemakers weren't playing happy family," Liv grimly stated, straightening her posture.**

"The wife," Artemis knowingly declared before she began murmuring expletives under her breath, colorfully describing the opposite gender.

Apollo and Hermes rolled their eyes at the Virgin Goddess' predictable reaction.

"For all you know, it could have been a horrible accident, Artemis," Ariadne put in, attempting to alleviate the situation.

Artemis sneered. "Doubtful," she retorted.

 **The scene cut to downstairs. Donna glared at the Winchesters, "Why are you asking me this?"**

 **Raising her hands in a placating gesture, Liv softly addressed her, "I know this is hard and I know this probably looks weird, but it's important."**

 **Swallowing, Donna nodded frantically. "Yeah. Linda's my mom, okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an** _ **accident**_ **, and that's it. I think you should leave," she firmly added at the end.**

"And back to square one," Leo cocked his head in confusion.

Hazel shook her head, "Not unless it was foul play and Linda _didn't_ die of an overdose."

"Yeah, I mean, what parent would admit to their child that they killed their mother?" Rachel scoffed rhetorically.

" _Or_ , what person would admit to complete strangers that their father killed their mother," Jason added, scowling.

Hecate inclined her head at Jason, Hazel and Rachel, "All credible conclusions."

 **Dean took a cautious step forward, "Now Donna, just listen-"**

" **Get** _ **out**_ **of my house!" Donna screamed before storming up the stairs and out of sight. Shaking her head in profuse denial and palpable shock, Charlie breathed out, "Oh my God. Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?"**

"You'd be surprised by the amount of mariticide and uxoricide cases are out there," Rachel grimly divulged.

Percy scratched the top of his head, flummoxed, "Was that English?"

"Idiot boy," Athena hissed condescendingly. "It is the killing of one's husband and one's wife."

Glares were thrown at the goddess of wisdom, all of which went overlooked by her.

The son of Poseidon shrugged, unconcerned and unaffected by his girlfriend's mother's anger towards him, or even the insult. "No need to be so snippy," he mumbled.

" **Maybe," Sam unhelpfully provided.**

 **Charlie stared at the Winchesters with determination, "I think I should stick around."**

Artemis' expression brightened, "Brave girl."

 **Unlike Liv, who had her eyes narrowed in disapproval, Dean wasn't opposed to the idea. "All right. Whatever you do, don't-"**

 **Interrupting Dean, Charlie smiled tightly, "Believe me, I won't say it."**

 **The screen turned black.**

"Smart, too," Artemis added.

Eyes sparkling with mirth, Apollo teasingly stated, "That's not exactly a nod to her wisdom, sister dearest. It just proves the girl isn't suicidal."

"Or a complete simpleton," Dionysus drawled out, smirking over at the irritated Goddess of the Hunt.

"Those boys of yours take much joy out of irritating Artemis," an amused Poseidon addressed a resigned Zeus in a hush, ensuring only his brother was privy to his words.

Dragging a hand down his weary face, Zeus groaned, "I know. They're _insufferable_."

 **The Winchesters were back in the library; while Dean sat in front of a computer doing research, Sam was scrutinizing the bulletin board in front of them and Liv was pacing behind Dean, expertly twirling a butterfly knife in her hand.**

"If the librarian catches her, she's toast," Rachel matter-of-factly pointed out.

Unfortunately, Apollo and Hermes were at completely different wavelengths, struggling to quell their raging hormones. Watching Olivia Winchester and her nimble hand twirling, twisting and spinning that blade around like a pro, it was a _huge_ turn on and they were immediately titillated by her. To make matters worse, the two sexually active gods failed in suppressing their salacious imagination in regards to _what_ _else_ those skillful hands could be good at…or, dare they think it, _already_ good at.

Aphrodite smirked knowingly at them, taking too much joy in watching Apollo and Hermes struggle with their sinful thoughts. She _is_ , after all, the Goddess of Lust and Sexuality, and their spontaneous arousal hit her like a freight train.

"Are they-" Ares growled, cutting himself off as Aphrodite's mischievous expression said it all.

Ares had the gift of Odikinesis; the general consensus – and not just among the demigods, but the minor gods as well – was that his ability to mentally control feelings and emotions had its limitations, strictly limited to emotions related to war, such as hate, rage, a lust for battle and the random urge to initiate fights – basically every single negative emotion under the rainbow. The general consensus however, was an erroneous assumption. While his ability over Odikinesis was the most potent as it coincided with his province, Ares _did_ have ability to sense lust, and not just _battle_ lust, especially after many millennia with Aphrodite as his lover.

Therefore, Apollo and Hermes couldn't conceal their obscene lust from Ares and he was of two minds; on one hand, he didn't care that the _runt_ was probably being regarded as a sex object but… on the _other_ hand, Ares felt a pang of overprotectiveness surge inside him, his hands itching to rip apart his half-brothers' heads and gouge out their eyeballs.

"It's harmless, darling," Aphrodite subtly relayed to him, patting his hand.

"I don't care, Aphrodite. Why do you keep assuming that I give a shit?!" he growled harshly, ripping his hand from her warm and welcoming touch.

The Goddess of Love didn't look affronted, she merely gazed back at him, her expression indifferent despite her piercing eyes. "Very well, dear. Stay in denial for all I care," she shrugged.

"I am _not_ in denial," Ares hissed.

" **Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a** _ **nationwide**_ **search?" Sam sharply inquired, tearing his gaze from the board to the computer screen. Liv shrugged and pocketed her knife before leaning over Dean to better make out the results in the screen, "Makes sense. We've gotten zilch in this town."**

 **Dean nodded at her direction, "Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database – at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me."**

" **But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town," Sam logically pointed out. Liv jabbed her thumb at Sam, "What Sam said. It would explain why** _ **if**_ **Bloody Mary is real, me and Keane didn't get affected."**

"Keane and _I_ ," Athena haughtily corrected.

"Whatever," Percy, Jason and Leo muttered in unison.

Rachel's expression softened, "And me. It would explain why my friends and I didn't get affected as well."

Apollo jovially clapped his hands together, "See, we're finally getting somewhere."

 **The eldest Winchester adamantly shook his head. "I'm telling you there's nothing local,** _ **I've checked**_ **," he huffed, slightly irritated. "So unless you got a better idea-"**

" **The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern," Sam interjected.**

 **Liv nodded, her expression grim, "You read my mind. Both victims had secrets where people died. A secret that hinted they were somehow responsible."**

"We reached the same conclusion," Hecate added, getting more and more invested in this certain case.

Hesitantly, Nico cleared his throat, looking pained as though he didn't want to express his thoughts, "If that's the case, I don't get how Liv wasn't targeted by Bloody Mary. From what we've seen up till now, with their profession, they end up losing innocents in the process. Liv _must_ feel guilt and Bloody Mary would feed on it and blame her."

"That's actually…smart," Thalia gaped.

Ares' gritted his teeth… ' _Denial, denial, denial…_ " Apollo and Hermes' previous chant echoed in the war god's head like an irksome mantra.

" **Right," Sam's tone morphed from dejected to excitement. "I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors– that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them."**

A pleased smile settled on Apollo's face, "I mentioned that."

 **Dean perked up, "Right, right. So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a** _ **really**_ **nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it."**

" **Whether you're the one that summoned her or not," Sam continued. None of the brothers noticed Liv slowly edge away from them, the camera zooming in on her face as it morphed into the epitome of horror and her eyes wide.**

"What's wrong with her?" Hazel inquired, her voice reeking with concern.

Sighing sadly, Hestia spoke up, "I believe, and I am simply postulating, that Olivia must have arrived at the same realization as Nico did."

Rachel bit her lip, and while she felt bad for Liv, she couldn't help but feel grateful that she didn't fall _anywhere_ under Bloody Mary's category of usual victims.

 **Turning back to the computer, Dean victoriously spoke up, "Take a look at this." A picture of a woman lying by a mirror in a puddle of blood filled the screen. The camera then zoomed out to show Dean printing out another picture, this one revealing a familiar handprint and an incomplete name "Tre".**

"Question is… she another victim, or the one they're looking for," Hermes rhetorically announced.

" **Looks like the same handprint," Sam said. He then held out the picture to Liv, his eyes widening in concern when he found Liv standing with her back to the bulletin board instead of beside him. "Liv… you okay?"**

 **At his inquiry, Dean's head snapped up, his worried gaze connecting with Liv's horrified face. Shaking her head, she forced a smile on her face, approached Sam and snatched the picture, "Just peachy. What do we know about her?"**

 **Still uncertain, his expression never wavering from disbelief, Dean acquiesced and responded, "Her name was Mary Worthington – an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."**

 **Liv let out a humorless chuckle, "Worth, huh; short for** _ **Worth**_ **ington. I don't know about you guys, but I'm guessing we've found our Bloody Mary."**

"Holy _shit_!" Rachel swore, too shocked to say anything more eloquent.

Hermes tapped his pointer finger against his chin, "Fort Sumter…That's a nearly two hour drive from Toledo, Ohio. It's two _completely_ different towns, why isn't she haunting the town she died in?"

Persephone groaned, an audible sigh escaping her, "This is _ridiculous_. Every time we piece a puzzle, another piece falls apart."

Nodding fervently towards his half-sister's direction, Hermes zealously continued with a hint of confusion, "And according to Olivia, she and her friend were in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. That's a six and a half hour drive. It makes no sense."

"I was in Beverly Hills," Rachel nonchalantly added.

Carelessly waving a hand at the Oracle's direction, Hermes heatedly exclaimed, "Thirty-two hours!"

Shaking his head, Leo, his mouth hanging open almost comically and eyes bugging out of their sockets, reverently spoke up, " _Wow_! That's so _awesome_. How do you automatically know all that?"

His agitation melted into a fond, almost paternal smile, and Hermes smirked down at the twitchy son of Hephaestus that, in all honesty, didn't take much to impress him what with his boisterous nature. "I'm the God of _Roads_ and _Travelers_ , kid. It's part of my domain. If I _didn't_ know the distance between cities, towns, you name it, well then I'd be rendered obsolete, don't you think?" he mischievously questioned him.

Leo sheepishly scratched a point above his Adam's apple, "Right."

A barely audible chuckle of amusement escaped the blacksmith's lips as he continued tinkering.

 **As the scene shifted, the words 'Fort Wayne, Indiana' appeared at the bottom of the screen. The Winchesters sat in front of a desk, staring intently at a man before them.**

" **I was on the job for 35 years- detective for most of that," the Detective was saying, his expression grim and weary. "Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder – that one** _ **still**_ **gets me."**

"Wait, _what_?" Rachel suddenly exclaimed.

Glaring at the Oracle, Hera snarled through gritted teeth, " _I wonder_ , HOW exactly are we to supposed to find answers _and_ complete the Fates' task so that we could return to our lives, with the _incessant_ interruptions!?"

" _Hera_ …" Hestia trailed off, what was supposed to be a strict tone ended up sounding resigned, a result of Hera's obstinacy and unyielding attitude.

Annabeth and Thalia parted their lips, ready to volley a snappish retort at their most hated goddess, but Rachel beat them to the punch, her gaze hard and tone firm.

"What I have to say _is_ relevant to the case."

Hecate gave the Oracle an encouraging smile, wordlessly signaling for her to continue.

Positioning herself in a way she could easily see everyone, Rachel said, "Bloody Mary's legend goes back _centuries_ … but according to the Detective, Mary Worthington died recently, sometime between his thirty-five years on the job. _How_ exactly is that possible?"

Rachel's observation rendered everyone speechless as they blinked, or in some cases, stared back at her, dumbfounded.

On the other hand, Thalia and Annabeth didn't have it in them to refuse the opportunity to gloat and they both spared a flummoxed Hera with a smug smirk.

Surprisingly, Hades offered a conjecture of his own, "It is plausible that the legend of Bloody Mary _is_ in fact a mere superstition, and her name truly was Mary _Worth_. Mary Worthington's death and her similarity to the Legend could be a coincidence."

"That makes sense," Frank commented.

"I agree," Apollo voiced out.

 **Dean leaned forward, "What exactly happened?"**

 **The detective's eyes flickered between the three, "You boys said you were reporters?" His gaze then fell on Liv.**

 **She gave him a disarming smile. "I'm their intern. We did our research; we just need an eligible source.**

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Hermes grinned, eyes dancing with approval once the detective melted under her smile, her carefully crafted words allaying his suspicions.

The three sons of Hermes grinned in agreement.

 **We know Mary was 19, lived by herself. We know she won a few local beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana, being an actress. And we know the night of March 29** **th** **someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife," she professionally chronicled.**

"That's horrible!" Aphrodite looked appalled.

Artemis glared at the love goddess in disdain, " _Why_ , because a girl who won beauty contests died?"

"No!" she snapped, meeting the virgin goddess' glare with a disdainful one of her own. " _Because_ _Artemis_ , it was already bad enough that a young girl with big dreams and a bright future ahead of her was murdered, but her killer decided to further maul and mistreat her body!"

"I think that's enough you two," Zeus sighed, though he addressed his words to Artemis.

Averting her gaze, Artemis grudgingly apologized. _'I guess I am the one to blame this time,'_ she internally mused.

 **Surprised, the detective nodded at her.** **Sam took over for Liv, "See sir, when we asked you what happened, we wanted to know what** _ **you**_ **think happened."**

"Oohh, now that's smart," Leo grinned.

Apollo smirked, "Flattery, it'll get you _everywhere_. Remember that." He winked.

 **The scene forwarded slightly to show the detective pulling a few files out from a filing cabinet. He approached the Winchesters and as he flicked open a folder, he spoke, "Technically I'm not supposed to have a copy of this." Dropping the open file onto the table in front of the trio, the camera showed the same picture Dean found on the computer. "Now see there? T-R-E?" Receiving an affirmative from Dean, he proceeded to state his opinion, "I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer."**

"Trent," Connor blurted out, picking out a random name.

Rachel grinned and decided to play along, "How about Treffan?"

Connor gaped at her with incredulous eyes, "Where the Tartarus did you come up with _that_?"

"It's Germanic!" Rachel retorted with a huff.

While the demigods argued good-naturedly, Hera was seething with apoplectic rage, ready to scold them for proceeding to waste her precious time.

"Oh, do give it a rest, sister," Poseidon intervened in a timely fashion, his voice stern yet his eyes glimmering with humor. "Leave the children to their fun. Let them be. It wouldn't kill you to _relax_."

Hera harrumphed and looked away, arms folded stubbornly across her chest.

"The chances of his name being Trent is a lot stronger than _Treffan_ ," Connor scoffed, Leo nodding in wholehearted agreement, much to Rachel's mock-irritation.

Correctly predicting Connor's reaction, Percy smirked, "Trenton."

" _Hey_!" Connor pouted. "It's a derivative of Trent. That's cheating."

Travis clucked his tongue, "Nah, you're all wrong. I say it's Trevor."

" _Fine_. We'll see," Rachel challenged.

"Oh _please_ , Rachel, even _if_ we all end up being wrong, we don't need proof onscreen to know that yours is way, _way_ off," Connor retorted with a smirk.

Rachel glared at him in response.

" **You know who it was?" Sam asked.**

 **The detective sighed, "Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon- Trevor Sampson." He pulled out the man's picture, "And I think he cut her up good."**

" _HAH_!" Trevor's cheer drowned out Connor and Rachel's dual groans. "Damn," he muttered in afterthought. "Should've bet on money."

" **Why would he** _ **do**_ **something like that?" Liv inquired in distaste.**

 **Seeming pleased with Liv's appropriate reaction, the Detective elucidated, "Her diary mentioned a man that she was seeing. She called him by his initial, "T". Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell "T's" wife about their affair."**

Hera sneered, "Well, if that's the case, then Mary Worthington got _everything_ that she deserved! Carrying an affair with a married man. _Despicable_!"

"Of course _you'd_ approve. You're the heartless psycho that either killed or tortured every lover and child my father ever had," Thalia retorted heatedly, her voice practically spitting acid.

"Why you little-" Hera made a move to stand up, but Zeus forced her to remain on her throne.

"Hera. Your cruel remarks are unwarranted. Mary obviously felt remorse and wished to make amends," Hestia angrily admonished her youngest sister.

Hera scoffed, "As _if_! The little tart probably planned on forcing the surgeon's wife to leave him so that she could keep him all to herself!"

"Even so," Demeter sniffed, she too was enraged with her sister – she never approved of Hera's retaliation when it came to their brother's many lovers, especially since she once, had been a lover of his. She was always grateful as her short dalliance with Zeus blessed her with the most precious gift, her beloved Persephone. "Keep your nasty opinions to yourself. It was _uncalled_ for."

Piper, Rachel, Katie, Annabeth, Hazel, Thalia and Aphrodite nodded in fervent agreement, all of them glaring at Hera with profound aversion.

Jason shifted uncomfortably; he knew that he was the rare demigod child of Zeus that Hera, or Juno –whatever, never harmed, and it was only because she made him her champion.

" **Yeah but how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?" Dean asked next.**

 **The Detective shrugged, lips pursed in a thin line, "It's hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out… it was almost professional."**

"Meaning, it was done with the precision that cannot be mistaken as anyone other than a surgeon," Apollo inserted.

 **Dean grimaced, "But you could never prove it?"**

" **No," the Detective sighed in despair. "No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous."**

" **Is he still alive?" Dean inquired. Sitting down, the Detective let out another sigh, "Nope. If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret. But she never could."**

"That's dedication," Hermes murmured.

"Shame," Dionysus drawled, flipping over a page of his magazine. "Three more letters and the killer would've been exposed. Unfortunately, she died halfway. _Tut-tut…_ "

Ariadne smacked his chest, her gorgeous features not amused.

"Ouch. Ariadne," Dionysus pouted, rubbing his abused stomach; his beloved never added enough force to harm him…a huge indicator that she truly was displeased with him.

Almost simultaneously, Hephaestus snapped his fingers… _again_!

" _Hephaestus_!" the wine god moaned, irately staring at the ash that stained his shorts.

" **Where's she buried?" Sam asked.**

 **The Detective shook his head, "She wasn't. She was cremated."**

"That's upsetting," Demeter pursed her lips. "Now they have no body to…what was it?" she tilted her head to the side.

Katie cleared her throat, smiling at her mother, "Salt and burn."

"Yes, precisely, dear," Demeter beamed at her daughter.

Rachel wrinkled her nose in disgust, "As horrible as it may sound, I'm kind of glad. I don't really think I can stomach watching them dig up a person's remains and torch it." She violently shivered at the thought, " _Eugh_!"

After all, to date, there had been three _episodes_ that comprised of ghosts, and all of them lacked a body to burn.

"Yeah, but now Mary'll be harder to banish… kill… or whatever you call it," Percy pointed out.

 **Liv's eyes snapped shut at the revelation. Desperate, Dean prodded for more information, "What about that mirror?" He jutted his chin toward the picture of Mary's dead body. "It's not in some evidence lockup somewhere, is it?"**

"Of course!" Persephone gasped in realization, disregarding the annoyed noise Hera produced for the interruption. "The mirror must be anchoring Mary's soul to Earth. The Winchesters spoke of this during the case of the lake haunting…" she trailed off, clicking her fingers. "Peter Sweeney, was it?"

Hecate smiled at her best friend, "Seph is correct. They implied Sweeney's bicycle kept him bound to Earth, but with his body lost in the depths of the lake, salt and burning proved to be futile."

" **Ah, no. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago."**

 **Slowly, Sam spoke up, "You have the names of her family by any chance?"**

"But that'll take forever. Another death could take place," Will was aghast.

"Not necessarily, son," Apollo disagreed. "As long as Lily, Donna or Charlie does not summon Bloody Mary, the Winchesters have ample time to narrow down the mirror's location and destroy it."

Head cocked, Rachel uncertainly uttered, "Isn't it like, _bad luck_ , to break a mirror?"

"Pesky mortal superstitions," Dionysus grumbled, his purple orbs rolling aggressively in their sockets – not that anybody noticed as they were hidden behind his newly conjured magazine.

Poseidon let out a long-winded sigh, "I believe the mirror must be in Toledo. Otherwise the town wouldn't be haunted by Mary, don't you think?"

"That's actually…" Athena trailed off, cutting herself from actually _complimenting_ Poseidon by slapping a hand to her mouth.

The Sea God smirked knowingly, goading her with an extravagant wink that succeeded in infuriating the wisdom goddess even more.

 **The scene changed to show the interior of a girl's communal bathroom at school where Donna and Charlie walked into. Donna looked to be in a middle of a ranter, her face pinched, "I mean, you bring these** _ **strangers**_ **into my house and they ask me things like that!?"**

"To be fair, from her point of view, it does look bad," Annabeth murmured into Thalia's ear.

Thalia scoffed, a smirk playing at her lips, "Tell me about it. If it were me, I'd probably blast them out of my house with a low-voltage static shock."

"That's not funny, Thals," Annabeth deadpanned, staring at her best friend with solemn eyes. "Your powers could _kill_ mortals."

"Eh," Thalia shrugged. "…You know I'm kidding. _Relax_ ," she hastened to add upon seeing the blonde's horrified expression.

 **Charlie attempted to pacify her, "They were only trying to help. Please, Donna, you** _ **have**_ **to believe me."**

" **What?" Donna snapped; she scoffed, "About** _ **Bloody Mary**_ **?" It was at that point the two girls realized they had paused in front of one of the mirrors.**

"Crap- _shit_ , damn it!" Connor blurted out.

Shaky hands reached up to cover her mouth. "Please don't tell me she's going to do what I think she's going to do," Rachel squeaked, once again leaning into Connor's side.

"Mortals do crazy things to prove a point, usually in a fit of anger," Aphrodite sighed desolately.

"Moron," Ares grunted and Aphrodite didn't bother rebuking him.

 **Charlie let out a sharp intake of breath, eyes warily taking in the mirror. "Please, I know it sounds crazy—"**

" _ **Crazy**_ **doesn't even** _ **begin**_ **to cover it," Donna snappishly cut in. "I mean it's** _ **one thing**_ **for my sister to believe this crap, she's** _ **twelve**_ **. But** _ **you**_ **?"**

"She's a very narrow-minded young girl," Amphitrite commented, unhappily.

"What do you expect? Typical mortal," Dionysus grumbled.

Rachel rolled her eyes, not even bothering to deem the grumpy wine god with a retort.

" **Think about the way your dad died, okay? And the way Jill died," Charlie cried out, trying to convince her – to no avail. Instead, Donna resolutely faced the mirror, "Okay so Bloody Mary-"**

" _ **No**_ **!"**

" **-Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." Nodding to herself, Donna turned back to face Charlie, "** _ **See**_ **! Nothing happened."**

"You _idiot_!" Apollo, Hermes, Hecate, Persephone and Aphrodite exclaimed.

Leo shook his head forlornly, "She's dead."

"Maybe not. Maybe Charlie will call the Winchesters and they'll arrive in time to save her stupid ass," Piper remarked, though she didn't sound confident.

Hades expressed his disagreement, "Mary's body was cremated, young demigod. Without that mirror, they cannot do anything."

"Unless they know of some way to combat a ghost, _which_ we have yet to see them do," Apollo pointed out with a grimace.

" **Why would you do that?" Charlie demanded angrily.**

 **Donna stared at her friend incredulously, "Oh my God. There** _ **really**_ **is something wrong with you."**

"Now that's harsh. She's only trying to help," Katie frowned, throwing Donna a sour glare.

 **The scene instantly morphed to show the school halls; Charlie could be seen walking past some windows, Bloody Mary appearing in one of them just before the screen turned black.**

"A _aaaand_ she's been awakened," Leo grimly announced.

 **Charlie sat at her desk in a classroom, listening to the teacher drone on, "Elements that lose electrons become positive ions, which are smaller than other atoms of the same element." Expression bored, Charlie took out her compact mirror and opened it. "Therefore the ionic radius is smaller than the atomic radius." Suddenly, the figure of Bloody Mary appeared in the corner and Charlie let out a scream, eyes widening in horror at her.**

"Oh gods!" Hazel gasped.

Ariadne grimaced, "So Charlie was involved in somebody's death. Truthfully, I didn't expect that."

"Her friend just signed her death warrant," Annabeth angrily stated.

Hera scoffed, "If that mortal killed somebody then I do not see what the problem is."

" _Hera_!" Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter and Hestia yelled while the other gods gaped at her in shock.

On the other hand, Hades rolled his eyes, having expected such a callous reaction from his bitter sister.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Hera tried justifying herself, waving a hand aloft.

Poseidon frowned at her, "No. I'm afraid to say I _do not_ 'know what you mean', sister."

"I concur with Sei," Demeter huffed, glaring at Hera.

Hestia gazed solemnly at Zeus who nodded and looked away. He needed to have a few choice words with his wife once they retire to their chambers.

 **As Charlie jumped out of her seat, the entire class buzzed with activity, staring at her in concern. Blood Mary's reflection appeared in the door's window, prompting Charlie to pick up the closest stool at hand's reach and toss it through the window.**

" _ **Charlie**_ **!" the teacher yelled, alarmed. She gripped her wrist as Charlie continued to panic, "Charlie stop it! What's wrong!? Just** _ **calm down**_ **." But Charlie couldn't calm down as her eyes connected with Bloody Mary in the reflection of the teacher's glasses and she screamed, "** _ **Aah**_ **! Let me go!" and ignoring her teacher's call, she fled from the classroom.**

"Bloody _Hell_!" Grover bleated, hands trembling, he desperately wanted Juniper with him.

Regrettably, Apollo formulated his thoughts into words, "Sadly, without that mirror, I don't see how Charlie has a chance of surviving. Bloody Mary could take advantage of anything with a shiny surface and appear in front of her. Especially with the sun up, a reflection could be found _anywhere_."

"Even water," Poseidon forlornly revealed. "Whether it be day or night, indoors or outdoors."

Connor couldn't help but grumble, "Way to put a huge damper on things."

"My apologies, young son of Hermes," Poseidon smirked, prompting Connor to become flustered for being overheard.

 **The scene shifted; the Winchesters were in the Impala, Dean driving down the road while Liv enjoyed a cup of coffee in the backseat.**

"Coffee!" Rachel, Katie, Piper and Annabeth wistfully sighed.

Hestia adopted a slightly ashamed expression, "Oh, how rude of us. We still have time before we sit down for dinner." She waved a hand, forming an arc in the air, and almost instantaneously, a cart materialized in the corner of the room. "Refreshments," she warmly offered.

"Thank you!" Percy grinned, him and Nico the first ones to take advantage of the conjured drinks and deserts as they had been in a similar situation before right after their visit with May Castellan. The others however, mimicked Percy and Nico in a sedated fashion.

Some of the gods smiled fondly at them while the others remained apathetic.

Once the teenagers returned to their respective seats, laden with coffee, hot chocolate, tea and biscuits, they murmured genuine thank-you's to the beaming Goddess of the Hearth, before greedily imbibing the heavenly liquid of their choice.

 **Sam however, was on the phone, "Oh really? Ah that's too bad, Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. …Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks." Hanging up, he turned to Dean and Liv, the latter of whom had her eyes closed, her expression serene as she continued to sip on her coffee.**

"I know the feeling," Piper giddily put in, warming Hestia's heart. Nothing pleased her more than seeing her family happy and at peace.

" **Hey, Liv, eyes over here, come on," Sam snapped his fingers at her to gain her attention. Liv stuck her tongue out at him from over the rim of the Styrofoam cup, "Hey, I've been deprived of caffeine for** _ **days**_ **because of Dean, gimme a break."**

 **Dean rolled his eyes, his gaze connecting with hers in the rearview mirror, "Hey, I got you a freakin' grande last night as a peace offering. Stop being overdramatic."**

" **Yeah,** _ **last night**_ **. Feels like for** _ **ever**_ **," she groaned, pouting at him.**

Chuckles pervaded the air.

"Too precious," Aphrodite cooed.

"She bleeds brown, I'm telling you. She's a coffee addict like me," Piper exuberantly revealed.

 **Sam chuckled at them. "** _ **Anyways**_ **, according to Mary's brother, the mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A store in** _ **Toledo**_ **."**

Poseidon hummed, having come to the same conclusion a while back.

Athena scowled at the thought, glowering over at the Sea God.

"The killings started happening at that time frame," Apollo deduced. "Suffice to say, Olivia and even you, Rachel, nothing happened to you because the mirror was safely tucked away in Indiana at the time."

"And I feel _so_ relieved," Rachel groaned, rubbing her forehead. "I mean, I'm not responsible for _anyone's_ death, I know that for sure, but I don't know what skeletons my friends have in their closets."

Apollo smirked at his Oracle, "There's that too." Rachel Elizabeth Dare was starting to become his all-time _favorite_ Oracle.

" **So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Dean remarked. Once again, his gaze connected with Liv's pensive ones, "There's your reason, Liv. That's why Mary wasn't unleashed in Ligonier. You two idiots got lucky." Liv simply rolled her eyes and took another sip of her coffee.**

 **Sam stared curiously from Dean to Liv before saying, "Right. So… her spirit's** _ **definitely**_ **tied up with it somehow."**

" **Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?" Dean commented.**

"Mirrors have _a lot_ of superstitions, but I don't recall ever hearing about that one," Katie remarked.

Hermes looked contemplative, "Makes sense, though. With their profession, they must be up to date with all kinds of superstitions, myths and folklore, that way they can be prepared for anything."

 **Sam nodded, "Yeah there is." He straightened his posture, eyes flickering from Dean's curious jade greens to Liv's mahogany browns, "Yeah, when someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped."**

"Interesting," Athena mused out loud.

Annabeth looked like she was in Heaven, devouring every bit of knowledge the Winchesters imparted.

" **So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit," Dean concluded. Sam grimaced, "Yeah, but how could she move through like a** _ **hundred**_ **different mirrors?"**

 **Dean shrugged, casually leaning on his seat with one hand on the steering wheel and holding the other one out for Liv's coffee.**

Piper shook her head, "One does not take another person's coffee!"

"Lighten up, babe," Jason grinned, stealing the mug from her hand and drinking from it.

He ended up with a smack on the head.

" _Rude_ ," Piper pouted, the corner of her lips turning upwards.

 **Pouting, she handed it over and once he took a hearty sip, he returned it and said, "I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it-"**

 **Liv, who had been sipping on her coffee, spat it back out. She began to cough, her eyes watering as she struggled to breathe. "** _ **What**_ **? Are you crazy? That's like** _ **seven years**_ **of bad luck. No way. Na-uh. There must be another way," she hoarsely exclaimed in disbelief before massaging her throat.**

"Now _that_ superstition, I've heard of," Rachel matter-of-factly stated. "They say if you break a mirror, it brings seven years of bad luck."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "It's just a _superstition_. The word alone spells it out, Rach."

"Hey, superstitions have origins. They aren't just pulled out of thin air, you know," Rachel stubbornly argued back.

"Besides, after _everything_ we've seen by now, I don't think I believe in the word 'impossible' anymore," Katie grimly remarked, portraying that she was on Rachel's side.

Apollo grinned at the three girls in amusement, "I'm afraid to say this, but I'm with Annabeth, girls. Everybody is prone to having bad luck. If somebody happened to break a mirror beforehand then, well, it's just an unlucky coincidence."

"You're supposed to be on my side," Rachel pouted, her twinkling eyes belying the weight of her words.

The sun god chuckled heartily, "Darling, I'm on the side of facts and truths."

 **But before Dean or Sam could argue with her, Sam's phone blared. Frowning at it, he answered the call, "Hello." His casual expression promptly morphed into a look of concern. "** _ **Charlie**_ **?"**

"Oh, good. She called them," Percy sighed; watching innocents die went against everything he stood for, even people that were involved in a murder.

 **The scene changed to the interior of a motel room. A hysterical Charlie sat on one of the double beds with her head on her knees while Liv shut all the curtains, and Dean and Sam threw sheets over some mirrors, while others were facing either the wall or the floor.**

"Smart," Ares gruffly complimented.

Hecate nodded, "Mmhmm. Charlie has more of a fighting chance as she knows what to expect-"

"And isn't narrow-minded like her simpleton friends," Dionysus interjected in a monotone.

 **Once done, Sam went over and sat next to Charlie. "Hey, hey it's ok. Hey, you can open your eyes, Charlie. It's okay, all right?" he reassured her in a soothing tone. Slowly, Charlie looked up. "Now listen," Sam continued, sounding solemn. "You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you."**

"I'd curl up in bed and bury myself, even my head, under the duvet until the whole ordeal is over," Rachel grimaced.

 **Desolately, Charlie cried out, "But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?"**

" **No. No you're not. Not under our watch," Liv had a small comforting smile on her face. She stood in the middle of the room, eyes flickering warily as though in search for anything with a shiny surface while Dean approached Charlie and sat on her other side. "All right, Charlie. We need to know what happened," he said.**

 **Sucking in a shaky breath, Charlie shortly divulged, "We were in the bathroom. Donna said it."**

"Not _that_ ," Leo snapped, exasperation evident on his features. "He meant _who_ did you kill."

Thalia stared at him incredulously, "Wow… you've got no tact _whatsoever_."

"Oh please, like you haven't been curious about it since Bloody Mary first appeared to her," Leo scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Flashing him a heavy scowl, Thalia snapped, "I never said I _wasn't_ curious, I was just stating a fact – that you've got _no tact_. Now _hush_! I wanna hear what Charlie has to say."

The son of Hephaestus cocked his head to the side and scratched his chin, his expression pensive. "I _do_ have tact, don't I?" he mumbled to himself.

 **Dean slowly moved his head left and then right. "That's not what we're talking about. Something happened, didn't it? In your life…a secret…where someone got hurt," he gingerly elaborated. "Can you tell us about it?"**

"Finally," the Stolls, Chris, Percy and Leo leaned forward, subconsciously rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

 **Judging by the look on Charlie's face, it was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Her bloodshot eyes traveled from Dean to Sam and lastly, Liv, all three of whom patiently stared back, their expressions encouraging. "I had this boyfriend," she prefaced, inhaling deeply before exhaling. "I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said?" she rhetorically breathed out, her voice choked with tears. "I said** _ **Go ahead**_ **. And I left. How could I** _ **say that**_ **? I just…I didn't believe him, you know? I should have," her words came out wobbly before she put her face back to her knees and started to cry again.**

"Fatal love," Aphrodite spoke in a hush, her sparkly blue eyes morphing to a muddy brown as they welled with unshed tears. Charlie's experience with love was a testament to how powerful and _dangerous_ love could be; a potent emotion that could effortlessly destroy lives, start wars, and many, many more….

Percy shivered, recalling a statement he once made about Aphrodite, and of how she, to him, was a more terrifying opponent than Ares.

"But that's, it's not Charlie's fault! She didn't kill him," Piper exclaimed with wide eyes.

Hazel jerked her head in fervent agreement, "Her boyfriend's actions were of _his own_. Charlie shouldn't be held responsible for his death."

"It doesn't matter," Aphrodite softly imparted, her face contorted in pain; obviously, catastrophic _love_ would greatly affect the goddess of _love_ , for all matters of the heart was a part of her province. "His heart beat only for her. It was _true love_ , not lust. If he hadn't committed suicide, Charlie would have inevitably found her way back to him, of that I am certain. Unfortunately, he was too weak to wait for her and took matters into his own hand. Charlie was indirectly responsible for his death and Bloody Mary is feeding on that." With feathery touches, she dabbed the bottom of her eyelids with a silk handkerchief, wiping away the few stray tears.

Sighing softly, Ares gathered his lover into his arms, caging her in his warm and soothing embrace.

"What Affie means guys, is that, in Bloody Mary's eyes, if Charlie never broke up with him, or treated his confession with disbelief, then her boyfriend would still be around, and _that_ holds Charlie accountable. To her, Charlie deserves to pay for her part in his death," Apollo glumly explained.

A prominent scowl appeared on Jason's face, "It still doesn't make it right."

"None of Bloody Mary's victims deserved to die, whether the death they were a part of was accidental or intentional, she has no right to play executioner," Percy snapped, his fists clenching in anger.

In Percy's opinion, Mary Worthington's death was tragic and horrific and unfair, and she died a victim. But just like Peter Sweeney, Mary stopped being a victim when she chose to, _metaphorically speaking_ , wield the knife. Percy was a protector, the savior… a hero; he believed in justice and fairness; he fought monsters and stood for his beliefs even if it meant evoking Zeus' wrath in the process. That was the type of person he was. During the Second Titan War, he tried to the best of his ability, to only slay the squadron of monsters in his path and avoid the rogue demigods that pledged themselves to Kronos. It was who Percy Jackson was – he couldn't kill anyone that bled red, he just couldn't. Therefore, he couldn't bring himself to pity Bloody Mary – because that _was_ her name. To Percy, Mary Worthington and Bloody Mary were two _completely_ different people; the former was an innocent nineteen-year-old girl who died a tragic death, murdered in cold blood while the latter was a twisted, deranged psycho who _became_ her killer.

 **The scene instantly shifted; the Winchesters were in the Impala and Dean sat behind the wheel, driving in the rain. "You know her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault," Dean stated.**

 **Liv scoffed, a tick in her jaw, "It's** _ **not**_ **Charlie's fault.** _ **Period**_ **."**

"Exactly!" Percy breathed out, the entire time his head was bobbing in agreement to Dean and Liv's words.

 **A bitter smile curled on Sam's lips as his gaze flickered from Dean and Liv, "You two know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary."**

This time, Apollo and Aphrodite could be seen nodding to Sam's words, them having said something similar beforehand.

"None of us see shades of gray when it comes to monsters," Nico scoffed.

"Of course not, their heartless and ruthless killers designed to hunt demigods," Thalia justified, sounding a tad bit defensive.

Percy and Annabeth shared _a look_ ; Iapetus was a ruthless Titan. _However_ , when he became Bob, he was their friend and ally, and he sacrificed himself for them to escape Tartarus.

" **I guess," Dean did a half shrug, keeping his eyes straight ahead on the road. Hesitantly, Sam uncertainly spoke up, "You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror."**

 **Spluttering could be heard from the backseat, and Liv scooted over to gape at Sam, "Hold on, I thought we agreed on this,** _ **seven years**_ **of bad luck, Sammy.** _ **Seven. Years**_ **!"**

" **I'll do it then," Dean interjected with an exasperated roll of his eyes. Liv however, fervently shook her head, eyes wide, "Are you kidding me? We're always around each other Dean. Bad luck is contagious, it'll affect me too!"**

"She has a point," Connor acknowledged.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "If the seven years of bad luck is an actual fact. Which _it isn't_." Her gray orbs pierced the Oracle in particular.

"We'll just agree to disagree," Rachel shot back, unwavering in her belief.

Clearing her throat, Katie intervened before the practical demigod could initiate an argument with the open-minded redhead, "Do they have to smash the mirror? I mean, can you burn glass?"

"Diesel fuel could work," Ares suggested, prompting a grunt of agreement from Hephaestus. "However it depends on the type of glass," the war god added.

 **Sam quickly cut in, "** _ **Look**_ **! Mary's hard to pin down. I mean, she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and** _ **then**_ **smash it." His last words were accompanied with a warning glare aimed at Liv.**

"That could be effective. Dangerous, risky, incredibly insane, yet effective," Apollo pointed out.

"Add emphasis on _dangerous_ ," Percy muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Thalia, Grover, Annabeth, Nico, Frank and Hazel threw Percy a deadpanned stare.

"Hark who's talking," Thalia smirked. "That's like pot calling the kettle black, Perce."

Percy scowled, "Shut up."

" **It might not work though, Sam," Liv's expression turned serious, her gaze burning into Sam's. Dean inclined his head at her direction, "She's right. And besides, who's gonna summon her?"**

 **Sam's next words reeked of confidence and certainty, "I will. She'll come after me."**

Comprehension dawned on Apollo, " _Ahhh_. And the drachma's dropped."

"A guilty conscience, just like Apollo said," Artemis sighed, expression sympathetic. _'Di immortales. I am sympathizing with a man,'_ she mentally sneered.

 **A sharp intake of breath emanated from Liv and Dean stiffened, his grip on the steering wheel tightening as he glanced at Sam from the corner of his eye. "You know what?" he recklessly pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned his entire form to squarely meet Sam's stubborn expression. "This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think** _ **that's**_ **your dirty little secret that you** _ **killed her**_ **somehow?** _ **SAM**_ **, this has** _ **got**_ **to** _ **stop**_ **, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night – it's gonna kill you. Now listen to me… it** _ **wasn't**_ **your fault. If you wanna blame someone, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place."**

 **Liv, who had leaned over the console to better gauge both their reactions, nodded, "Yeah, kick Dean's ass. I remember nagging him nonstop to leave you out of all this."**

"She really has a way with her words, huh," Hermes smirked. "Absolutely no tact."

Apollo snorted, "Like her father."

" _Zip it, punks_!" Ares snarled, cracking his knuckles in a threatening demeanor.

Hestia's announcement halted the imminent dispute, "The only one to blame for Jessica's tragic demise, is the one that killed her. No one else."

"But admittedly, Bloody Mary would not see it your way," Persephone reminded her.

Demeter expressed her confusion, "I do not see how Samuel can be a target. He is not responsible in any way for Jessica's death. If he knew her life would be in danger if he left, then yes. But _he didn't_."

"Perhaps, Bloody Mary will play on the boy's guilty conscience," Hades suggested, surprising the entire room, _including_ Demeter herself, with the neutral tone used to address the goddess he constantly butted heads with.

The goddess of the hearth smiled at the progress.

 **Smiling softly at Liv, Sam then turned to Dean, "I don't blame you."**

" **Well you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done," Dean firmly informed him. Sam shook his head in negative, "I could've warned her."**

"Of what?!" Nico snapped in exasperation. "He, himself, didn't even know Jessica would die if he left her alone."

Hazel was of the same mind as her half-brother, "Even if Sam stuck around, I strongly believe Jessica would've died."

Ares grunted. "Like I've been saying, it's personal. Jessica, she was either a target, or a message. Either way, the killer set its sights on her, it wanted her dead…it was inevitable. The only thing the punk could've changed, was _timing_ ," the war god sounded resolute in the conclusion he had drawn.

"Message?" Thalia arched an eyebrow.

The God of War shrugged, the act portraying an uncaring disposition, and he drawled out, "Could be anything. Maybe the killer wanted the Winchesters to know that they hadn't forgotten them, that despite the many years of inactivity, the killer's still after them. Unfortunately, I can't narrow it down without more details."

Percy couldn't help but gape at the god that would become his past-self's most hated one in less than a year from now. It was just so _surreal_ , to have a calm and enlightening conversation with the war god without weapons drawn or trading insults and threats. This Ares seemed more tolerable… maybe Kronos was fully to blame for their tainted relationship… perhaps if the Titan _hadn't_ messed with Ares' head, then he would get along with the god like he did Apollo, Hermes and Artemis.

The son of Poseidon shook his head… it was a _mindboggling_ thought.

" **About what?" Liv snapped, inserting herself in the argument. "Sam, you didn't know. Please, enlighten us. What could you have done? How were we supposed to know that that sick bastard would surface after** _ **sixteen**_ **years?"**

" **And besides," Dean added. "All of this isn't a secret. I mean Liv and I know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."**

 **But Sam remained adamant, "No you don't. You don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything."**

"Is it possible that Sam isn't struggling with a guilty conscience? That there is a plausible reason as to _why_ he truly believes Jessica's death is his fault?" Artemis gasped, looking at her brother for answers.

Athena glowered at the goddess of the hunt; _she_ is the goddess of _wisdom_ … Artemis should direct her questions to her, not _Apollo_!

"Unless I get into Sam's head, I got nothing," a dejected Apollo remarked.

"If there is a plausible reason, and Samuel insists on keeping it from Dean and Olivia, then he has painted himself as a _perfect_ target for Bloody Mary," Hecate revealed in a solemn tone.

Percy had an expression of palpable disapproval, "He's purposely ticking the requirements."

"So he can end Bloody Mary once and for all," Nico pointed out.

Thalia commiserated with the Winchesters. "It's what they do. Risk their lives… purposely put themselves in danger to protect innocents," the way she matter-of-factly stated it disturbed the gods, as it was sort of an alien feeling to selflessly lay down their lives for perfect strangers.

Ares gritted his teeth and gripped the armrests of his throne as he tried to maintain his apathetic demeanor. Naturally, only Aphrodite saw right through him, but thankfully, she loyally maintained her silence.

" **What are you talking about?" Dean and Liv impatiently snapped in unison. Sam shot them a condescending look, both eyebrows arched, "It wouldn't be a** _ **secret**_ **of I told you, would it?"**

 **Surprised at his attitude, Dean firmly refused, "No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it."**

" **You're not effing bait, Sam!" Liv snapped, mahogany brown eyes blazing with anger.**

Telepathically communicating with Ares, Aphrodite affectionately said, 'Another trait she inherited from you, dear. She hides her concern behind a veneer of anger.'

Ares leveled his lover with a harsh glower that proved to be ineffective.

'Don't look at me like that, Ares. I initiated a private conversation with you because I tire of your incessant denials. You are adamant in hating her…fine. You have your reasons…I will not pry. You believe her a weakling, a ' _runt_ ' as you so eloquently put it…well in that case, you are constantly proven wrong the more we observe these _episodes_. But do not waste your efforts in denying how much Olivia strongly resembles you, in personality, behavior and in physical appearance, _that_ will only be futile, my love,' Aphrodite concluded. She subsequently turned away from him, subtly informing him that she no longer wished to proceed with the conversation, that she had nothing else to say.

Simmering with deftly veiled rage, Ares clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to drown out Aphrodite's words… to no avail.

The moment between the lovers went unnoticed by everyone, all their eyes fixated on the row between the Winchesters.

" **Dean, Liv, that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what?** _ **Who knows**_ **how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this," Sam beseeched them, looking for their acceptance.**

"I frankly don't see another way out of it," Apollo commented, stretching his legs out and slumping on his throne.

 **The scene shifted to the exterior of a shop. Liv and Dean stood behind Sam, who was trying to pick the lock and succeeded. Opening the door, they froze in place.**

"Holy mother of G.O.D," Rachel gasped, emerald orbs widening at the sight before her.

Grimly, Frank muttered, "Suddenly, Sam's risky plan makes complete sense."

" **Christ almighty. That's** _ **a lot**_ **of mirrors," Liv hissed, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.**

Rachel smiled feebly. _'She took the words right out of my mouth.'_

 **Dean, his expression also drawn in annoyance, huffed, "That's just great." The camera then homed in on Dean's hand as he pulled out a picture of Mary's dead body that was found in front of the mirror from his pocket, zooming out as he showed it to Sam and Liv, "All right, let's start looking."**

 **As the Winchesters split up, walking through different parts of the store, the camera focused on a flashing light for a brief moment.**

"Crap!" Leo swore. "They must have triggered the alarm system."

Thalia grimaced, "That's not good. The last thing they need is for the cops to start swarming the place."

"Poor folks… they can't seem to catch a break," Hermes sympathized, he too imitating Apollo by stretching his legs out, giving himself an air of insouciance.

" **Maybe they've already sold it," Dean called out. At the same time, Sam's flashlight stopped on a certain mirror and he grimaced, "I don't think so."**

"Bingo," the Stolls echoed.

 **Dean and Liv joined his side, the former comparing the mirror in front of them with the one in the picture. "That's it," he sighed in affirmative, not looking too pleased with the discovery. He looked at Sam pleadingly, "You sure about this?"**

 **In response, Sam passed the flashlight to Dean and stared at his reflection. Sighing, he chanted, "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary…" he turned to Dean and Liv, both of whom stared back at him with uncertainty. He picked up a crowbar and finished, "Bloody Mary."**

The Throne Room was saturated with a heavy silence as its occupants waited in nervous anticipation for the incoming debacle to ensue.

 **The moment the last word escaped his lips, a light could be seen flashing through the store. Trading uneasy looks, Liv signaled for him to go. "You check it out, I'll stick with Sam," she assured him, arming herself with a crowbar and holding it aloft.**

"This is not a good time to split up!" Aphrodite shrieked in dismay.

A knowing look passed through Piper's kaleidoscopic eyes, and she sneered, "The police do have an annoying habit of showing up at the wrong time."

Aphrodite's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "And _how_ , dare I ask, would you know that, Piper?"

Averting her mother's intimidating stare, Piper sheepishly murmured in a barely intelligible tone, "I kind of have a rep with them."

"First of all, mumbling is a nasty habit, Piper," Aphrodite scolded her in true motherly fashion, eyes now forming into slits and lips pursed in disapproval. "And second of all darling, I have _impeccable_ hearing, and we _will_ be talking about this _later_."

"Yes, Mother," Piper sullenly obeyed.

"Who know Aphrodite could be a scary mama bear?" Leo whispered to Jason.

Slightly amused, Aphrodite pinned the son of Hephaestus with her intimidating gaze, "Like I just informed my daughter, Mr. Valdez, I have impeccable hearing."

Leo squeaked, adopting an expression of a kid that got caught with his hand in a cookie jar, and he hurriedly looked away.

 **Dean crawled away towards the front door, only to see a headlight. "** _ **Crap**_ **!" he hissed, dropping the crowbar and dusting himself off before making a beeline to the front door. Back in the store, Liv was armed and ready, nervously swinging the crowbar in her hand. The distinctive sound of a short breath could be heard prompting Sam to turn swiftly, eyeing a different mirror. Seeing nothing, Sam turned his back on it. The camera however, remained focused on the mirror as Bloody Mary appeared in it.**

"She's toying with him," Percy snarled through gritted teeth.

Thalia groaned, "I've always hated the need for suspense. I'd prefer the monsters lunge instead of prowling in the dark."

"How poetic of you, Thals," Annabeth teased, reflexively ducking the blow to her head. She smirked victoriously at her best friend.

 **The scene alternated to the exterior of the store where Dean was face-to-face with two police officers.**

"Two unarmed cops? Piece of cake," Piper smirked, the relief evident in her tone.

Aphrodite however, didn't look amused, and decided to give her a scolding glare.

On the other hand, Ares couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as he realized that Piper McLean was unlike most of his lover's demigod offspring.

" **Hold on!"**

 **Dean raised both hands, "Woah guys, false alarm, I tripped the system."**

" **Who are you?" one of them demanded in a no nonsense tone. Radiating utmost confidence, Dean flashed them a smile, "I'm the boss's kid."**

Hermes looked impressed, "Quick on his feet _and_ believable."

 **The other police officer arched a brow, his face shining with disbelief with a tone to match, "** _ **You're**_ **Mister Yamashiro's kid?"**

He couldn't help it. He really couldn't. It wasn't a laughable matter due to Sam and Olivia's critical situation, but Poseidon _really_ couldn't help it. Loud, booming laughter emanated from his lips, "Not quite believable anymore, eh, Hermes."

"Darn it!" the Trickster God hissed.

Travis pouted, "It was a really good cover while it lasted."

"One aspect that hadn't been taken into consideration and the lie collapsed," Connor groaned, smacking a hand to his forehead.

"Pity," Hera sneered in disgruntlement.

 **The scene cut back to Sam and Liv, where Bloody Mary could be seen in a different mirror. In a swift move, Sam threw his hand out, smashing the mirror with his crowbar. Liv, who had been slowly strolling down the aisle inspecting the mirrors, let out an alarmed gasp, whirling around in her spot to stare at the destroyed mirror. She winced and murmured to herself, "There goes seven years."**

"How can she think about that at a time like this?" Athena snapped, glaring at Olivia with disdain.

Percy did a small shrug, "Using humor to make light of a terrifying situation."

"I can relate," Leo piped up.

The Stolls and Percy vocalized their agreement, "Same."

Athena transferred her glare to the four demigods, sniffing haughtily at them.

 **Bloody Mary however, had escaped to a different mirror and Sam wasted no time in smashing it before returning to her original mirror. "Come on. Come into this one," he murmured. "You good, Liv?" he called out, his eyes never leaving the mirror.**

 **Taking calculated steps towards him, Liv humorlessly said, "Yeah, ya know, just contemplating and stuff. Got a random question for you, is it now fourteen years of bad luck, or does it still count as seven?"**

Leo, Percy, Grover, the Stolls, Chris, Thalia, Piper, Rachel and Katie chuckled despite themselves.

The gods, sans Zeus, Athena, Hera, Hestia and Hades, had a fond smile play at their lips. Ares, on the other hand, forced himself not to react.

"I actually wondered the same thing. Would it add up to fourteen or does it count as seven…" Rachel mused to herself.

 **Sam chuckled wryly, "Only you, Liv. Only you." Just as Liv approached Sam, he began staring at his reflection, cocking his head to the side in bemusement.**

" **Sam?" she inquired, frowning at him.**

" _Di immortales_!" Ariadne gasped, cupping her mouth.

Dionysus discarded his magazine as the _episode_ took an interesting turn, and with a soft sigh, he gathered his wife into his arms, soothingly stroking her arms.

 **Like Jill's reflection, Sam's took a mind of its own, "It's your fault.** _ **You killed her**_ **.** _ **You**_ **killed Jessica." Sam struggled to breathe properly as a line of blood trickled down his eye and he dropped the crowbar to clutch at his heart. "** _ **SAM**_ **!" Liv screamed.**

 **The scene alternated back to Dean.**

"No!" the demigods groaned.

"I don't care about the authorities, show us Olivia and Sam!" Aphrodite screeched in a panicky tone, clutching Ares' forearm in a vice grip, her nails piercing his skin.

" **Like I said, was adopted," Dean reassured the officers.**

Hermes wasn't in the mood to congratulate Dean, as he, like Aphrodite, was more concerned about Sam and Olivia. Neither did the Stolls for that case.

" **Yeah," one of the officers scoffed, trading a skeptical glance with his partner over Dean's shoulder.**

 **Sighing, Dean lowered his head, his head shaking to and fro, "You know, I just- I** _ **really**_ **don't have time for this right now." And without warning, his fist came forward, hitting the officer in the face before he agilely twisted around and backhanded the other, landing him flat on his ass and knocking him out cold. Turning around, Dean punched the officer again, rendering him unconscious.**

Ares scoffed, his features twisted in disapproval, "Puny mortals. Two against one and they didn't even put up a decent fight."

"Ares now is _not_ the time," Aphrodite hissed.

But the war god defensively retorted, "I'm just pointing out that those two aren't fit to protect civilians if they can't handle one guy."

"He has a point," Clarisse mumbled, agreeing with her father.

Leo however, had an expression of pure awe. "The guy's got awesome moves though. Better than Jason… _no offense_ ," he quickly added, giving his best friend an insincere look of apology.

Not truly offended and in agreement with Leo, Jason snorted, "None taken."

 **Back in the store, Sam's reflection was spitting and hissing at him in a dark, menacing tone filled with accusation, "You** _ **never**_ **told her the truth – who you** _ **really**_ **were. But it's more than that,** _ **isn't it**_ **? Those** _ **nightmares**_ **you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming,** _ **burning**_ **… You had them for** _ **days before she died**_ **. Didn't you?!" Sam fell onto the ground, weakly scrambling backwards. "You were** _ **so desperate**_ **to ignore them, to** _ **believe**_ **they were** _ **just dreams**_ **. How could you ignore them like that?** _ **How could you leave her alone to die**_ **?! You** _ **dreamt**_ **it would happen!"**

"Holy _fuck_!" Rachel swore, her eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets.

"He's not a demigod. So that _can't be_ a demigod dream," Percy gasped, trying and failing to understand _what_ just happened.

The screen froze as every single pair of eyes fixated on a flummoxed Apollo.

"What? Why are you all looking at me?" Apollo spluttered.

Adopting a strictly respective tone, Katie blurted out, "Well, you _are_ the God of Prophecy and _Foresight_. This is entirely up _your_ alley."

"It could be Morpheus. Maybe he's the one that sent Sam those dreams," Apollo justified, though it sounded weak even to him.

"Tis not possible, brother. Only those in this room know of the Winchesters, according to the Fates. Besides if Morpheus is responsible, he wouldn't send one of importance to Samuel. Tis a dream of precognition," Artemis argued in a soft tone.

Apollo rapidly jerked his head back and forth, staring at his father in desperation, "This isn't me. I know nothing about the Winchester-"

Zeus firmly held up a hand, demanding utmost silence. "Son, I didn't believe for even a second that you were responsible. If I believed this was of your doing, I would be more upfront as you know," he wryly imparted. A pang of guilt and self-hatred hit him at the realization that his son feared him… not that he could blame him. He wasn't the most _understanding_ father, always preferring to lay blame on others. "We are merely inquiring over your opinion regarding this befuddling matter as the daughter of Demeter pointed out, this _is_ a matter of your expertise."

"Well, I have no clue," Apollo sighed, wearily dragging a hand through his blonde hairs, giving them a naturally tousled appearance. "Maybe he's a natural-born psychic. That'd be my best guess. I mean, Sam is no demigod. I _definitely_ didn't bless him. Also…" he trailed off, contemplating for a moment while ignoring the complete attention fixated on him. "By the looks of it, Sam ignored the dreams… according to his reflection he's been having them for a while before Jessica died. Meaning wherever those dreams came from, it's new. That contradicts my guess in regards to him being a psychic, because he'd have a more intimate understanding of his gift. Then again, _this_ is under my jurisdiction, and if Sam's has the gift of precognition, he's been well-hidden from me which is _impossible_. No one can hide from me."

"So, to sum it all up, you've no idea," Thalia summarized, staring blankly at her half-brother.

He grimly shook his head, "Not a damn clue."

"This is a disturbing phenomenon. Very upsetting," Zeus sternly stated, solemn electric blues piercing the wall.

Weakly grasping for straws, Apollo said, "Maybe once Sam elucidates on these dreams I'll be able to come up with a more realistic theory."

"Apollo's right," Hestia calmly announced. "Let us not jump to conclusions and instead take our time. I am certain all the answers we seek of will be provided in due time. We must practice patience, all right?"

 **The split-second Sam's reflection spat out its last word, a crowbar smashed through the mirror, a grim Liv glaring at the shards on the ground. Dean's voice echoed in the room, "** _ **Sammy**_ **!" Unceremoniously dumping her crowbar, Liv joined Dean by Sam's side.**

Sighs of relief pervaded the room, glad that the reign of Bloody Mary was over.

"Nice aim," Rachel feebly chuckled. "Got to say, I didn't expect Liv to go as far as to smash a mirror."

An irritated expression adorned Annabeth's features, "Her cousin's life means more to her than some stupid superstition, Rach."

"Just saying," the Oracle murmured, raising a hand in a surrender gesture.

" **It's Sam," Sam weakly corrected Dean. Liv snorted as she rooted through her** **Aztec patterned hippie shoulder bag. Dean's eyes roved Sam's face, "God, are you okay?"**

 **Liv pulled out a bunch of tissue and wiped off the blood that smeared his face. Sam huffed at her actions though a tiny fond smile appeared on his face, "Never expected you to be such a mother hen, Liv."**

Aphrodite, Ariadne and Persephone cooed.

"I cannot imagine Clarisse _ever_ doing that- _Ouch_!" Percy rubbed his chest, mock-glaring at Clarisse. "What was that for?"

Clarisse arched an eyebrow in response, shooting him a deadpanned glare.

"Oh, _come on_. You're telling me you'd do that?" Percy pointed at the screen.

The daughter of Ares scoffed, her nose crinkling in distaste, "Definitely _not_!"

"Then whatchu hit me for?"

She shrugged, "Felt like it. _Besides_ , just 'cause I'd never be caught dead doing it, doesn't mean I appreciate you advertising it, Prissy."

"Shut up," he grumbled.

 **Glowering at Sam, Liv mussed up his hair in retaliation and tossed the bloody tissue at his face. "Let's bounce," she declared, jumping onto her feet. Nodding, Dean placed Sam's arm around his neck, helping him. The Winchesters began to walk out of the store when noises from behind prompted them to stop and turn around.**

Rachel, Piper, Katie, Hazel and Grover screamed in alarm at the ugly sight.

"I thought they killed her!" Annabeth yelled.

"That's, that's unreal," Leo breathed out, eyes widening in fright as he watched Bloody Mary emerge.

 **Bloody Mary came out of the mirror's frame and crawled over the broken glass towards them. Liv moaned in pain as she started to bleed from her eyes, followed quickly by Sam and Dean.**

"NO!" nearly everyone screamed in alarm.

Unconsciously, Ares roughly inhaled and exhaled from his nostrils, ichor oozing from his closed fists as his blunt nails viciously punctured his palms. Flaming sockets bore a hole into the screen, staring unblinkingly at the stream of blood cascading down his- … _the runt's_ face.

 **As the trio collapsed onto the ground, Dean reached up and pulled over a mirror into Bloody Mary's line of vision, forcing her to see her own reflection. "You killed them!** _ **All**_ **those people! You killed them!" her reflection snarled, prompting Bloody Mary to choke to death and slowly melt into a pile of blood.**

 **Dean hurled the mirror, shattering it.**

" _Now_ , Bloody Mary is _officially_ gone," Hermes sighed in relief.

Apollo smiled in pride, "That was actually quite ingenious of Dean."

"Yes, for a _male_ , he's not so bad," Artemis conceded.

Demeter scoffed, " _Not so bad_? He's _perfect_!"

"Down, mother," Persephone sighed, winking at her mortified demigod sister.

"Quite a case," Hades murmured to himself.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts revolving around Bloody Mary and the Winchesters. Aphrodite, on the other hand, sighed sadly at her lover and, ensuring there weren't any witnesses, she clasped Ares' ichor-smeared hands in hers and clandestinely vanished the evidence of his grudging concern.

" **Hey, Liv…This has got to be like… what? 600 years of bad luck?" Dean chuckled, infusing humor in their situation. Liv groaned, "Thanks for reminding me. You two better have my back when bad luck starts raining on me."**

Cue amused chuckles.

"I'll put in a good word with Tyche," Hermes smirked, eyes twinkling with mischief.

 **The scene cut to the Impala parking in front of a quaint house. Charlie, who was sitting in the backseat with Liv, piped up in relief, "So this is really over?"**

" **Yeah, it's over," Dean grinned reaching over to shake her hand.**

"And thank the gods for that. Now I can blissfully go back to believing Bloody Mary's simply a legend," Rachel grinned.

 **Liv scrambled out of the car to speak with Charlie, "Hey, Charlie, listen… about my behavior. I was kinda hard on you and you didn't deserve that." Sighing, Liv bit her lip before continuing, "I'm not good with apologies. It's just… Bloody Mary came with** _ **a lot**_ **of baggage, a lot of memories I'd rather forget and two overprotective cousins kept pushing and pushing and… well, I took out my anger at you. So…" she awkwardly trailed off.**

 **Laughing, Charlie engulfed her in a quick hug, "You don't have to say it. I get it. It's okay. But… if you want my advice, about your memories – either confront them head on, or bury them. They say its best to confront them but hey, we're teenagers, right? What do we know?" She winked and squeezed Liv's hand, prompting a laugh out of the brunette.**

Apollo leaned closer to Hermes, "Can't apologize… I swear they are so alike it's starting to get creepy."

"Tell me about it," Hermes murmured back, glancing at the scowling Ares and back to Apollo, who was grinning mischievously.

"Awwhh, how sweet. They would've made such good friends," Aphrodite cooed.

Artemis frowned, looking a tad sympathetic, "Olivia needs to have girls in her life."

Rachel voiced her agreement. "Yeah, too much testosterone… Though I'm not complaining," she murmured the last bit to herself.

 **Parting Charlie with one last goodbye, she clambered into the car just as Sam poked his head out. "Charlie… Your boyfriend's death…you should really try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen," Sam advised her with a soft smile. Smiling faintly, Charlie turned around and disappeared into her house.**

 **Dean gently hit Sam on the back before starting the car, "That's good advice."**

"It really is," Hestia smiled approvingly.

Throwing her head back, Piper groaned, "Okay, I _really_ , _really_ wanna know what Liv's hiding."

"My bet's on that Keane guy. I don't think he's _just_ a 'best friend'," Rachel put in, making quotation marks with her fingers.

Leo smirked, "Another prediction?"

"I assure you, I did not sense an amorous bond when Olivia spoke of that mortal," Aphrodite firmly repeated.

" **Hey Sam," Dean added in afterthought. "Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is."**

 **Sighing loudly, Sam tilted his head to face his brother, "Look…you're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself." He looked out the window and grimaced, "Damn. I see your point now, Liv. I'm not going to push you anymore… whenever you're ready to tell me whatever you've been keeping from me, I'm here for you." When Liv didn't respond, both Dean and Sam turned around. "Liv? You okay?" Dean inquired.**

 **Liv jolted and stared bewilderly at her cousins. Blinking a few times, she offered them a tight-lipped smile, "I'm good. Eyes on the road, Dean; and Sam, whenever I'm ready to talk, I know where to find you." Still adorning uncertain looks, Dean and Sam turned around. Liv's weak smile slipped off her face as her gaze fell back to her phone, her thumb hovering over a button.**

 **The camera zoomed in, showing the phone's screen: it was opened on contacts – Keane Bennett. A pop up dialogue box appeared:** _ **Contact successfully deleted**_ **.**

… **And the screen turned black.**

"She decided to bury her memories instead of confronting them," Amphitrite stated in discontentment.

Thalia shrugged, "Charlie did make a great point. They're still teenagers. They _are_ allowed to make stupid decisions and take the easy way out."

"Yes, until the next time it distracts her from hunting," Athena condescendingly spat out. "Olivia herself, admitted that her atrocious behavior was a result of those memories she obstinately continues to keep buried. In her line of work, Olivia cannot risk being _a teenager_."

"Jeez, who peed in her Cheerios this morning," Leo muttered to Piper, who hastily clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles.

Aphrodite hummed to herself, "This boy… Keane Bennett. He must be a person of _great_ importance to affect Olivia this much.

Poseidon clapped his hands together and jovially announced, "Well then, let us hope the next ah, _episode_ , won't be as distressing. Shall we proceed?"

"Yes. I believe we have time to watch the next one before we congregate for dinner," Hestia warmly informed the room at large.

 **A/N:** **This** _ **literally**_ **took me a week to write. My muse kept ditching me and today she finally stuck around long enough for me to finally complete this chapter.** _ **Whew**_ **! So… I hope it exceeded your expectations and it was worth the wait.**

 **I'd like to point out** **TWO** **important revelations from this chapter so that you can keep them mind for the future…**

 **One:** **Ligonier, Pennsylvania…** _ **Oookay**_ **, uh, what can I say? You guys ever heard of that saying:** _ **What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas**_ **? Oh who am in kidding, of course you have… unless you've been living under a rock. Replace the word 'Vegas' with 'Ligonier'. LOL! So… a lot of important events that made a huge impact on Olivia occurred during her stay at Ligonier. All I can tell you, is that in due time, everything would be revealed: why she was there? For how long? Etc…**

 **I didn't want to spill the beans 'cause there'll be no point in having a plotline. I want to add suspense and all that jazz. It'll all come out sooner or later,** _ **especially**_ **in a few nice FLASHBACKS! XD**

 **Two:** **Who is Keane Bennett?** _ **Who**_ **is he to Olivia? Is he an ex-lover? Or was Olivia being honest when she called him her best friend…** _ **Oops**_ **, I mean** _ **ex-**_ **best friend. Keep this is mind: Keane is an OC of mine that's been a part of this story since its inception. His background and who he is to Olivia has been cemented since Chapter Two.**

 **And that's all for now! Keep those two deets in mind. ;)**

 **o**

 **Celebrity Faces:**

 **We got The Big Three, Hera, and Ares out of the way… so I'm gonna share two more.**

 **This Chapter I give you** _ **Twooooo**_ **….Demigods!**

 **One:** **Will Solace… the moment I read about him, and with him being a son of *hubba-hubba* Apollo, Lucas Till popped into my head.**

 **Maybe it's that infectious smile of his… I don't know. But Will Solace EQUALS Lucas Till.**

 **Hope you're A-Okay with my choice! XD**

 **Two:** **Nico di Angelo, our favorite son of Hades Ansel Elgort is the winner! ;)**

 **So, I watched his movie:** **BABY DRIVER** **and it stuck. Maybe it's the dark hair and the oh-so-sexy dark eyes, perhaps the pale skin? But what cemented it for me, was watching his character in Baby Driver. The broody look, the badassery – which** _ **hello**_ **? Son of the Lord of the** _ **Underworld**_ **, one** _ **must**_ **be badass, right?**

 **Ignore the age difference and just imagine Ansel Elgort as a fourteen/fifteen year old.**

 **Poll:** **I am giving my awesome readers the choice to pick out two characters off the top of your head, and next chapter, the two names that collected the most vote, I will put up their** **Celebrity Faces** **! Can't wait & choose wisely. ;)**

 **o**

 **Another thing I wanna bring to light.**

 **About Sam Winchester!**

 **Truth be told, I'm trying really hard** _ **not**_ **to be biased and not to bash on him. Woah, hold on, don't jump to conclusions and curse my name 'cause of my attitude towards Sam. Let me just say one thing: I DO NOT,** _ **I repeat**_ **, DO NOT hate Sam Winchester.**

 **P.S.:** _ **Spoilers ahead for Season 4 onwards…**_

 **I just adore Dean. A-D-O-R-E him with a passion that's indescribable (ya I know, I'm such a sap, blah, blah, blah). I hated the fact that Sam ditched. I mean, yeah you've a right to go to Stanford, but… why ignore Dean for two years? He's always whining on and on about not wanting to hunt and living a normal apple-pie life, ranting about John and Dean's vendetta in catching Azazel, and then** _ **BAM**_ **! Jessica dies, and all of a sudden, Sam's imitating John to the T. And** _ **don't**_ **get me started on the whole Ruby Ordeal…** _ **GOD**_ **that pissed me OFF, so damn much! At least Dean was literally tortured into opening the first seal, Sam started the Apocalypse out of his own volition because he was blinded by a demonic bitch and rusted her over his own brother, who** _ **oh I don't know**_ **, DIED for him. And then Dean goes to Purgatory and Sam gives up. Dean would** _ **never**_ **give up on Sam. That truly sickened me. I can continue ranting about all of Sam's mistakes and how he mistreated Dean, but I won't.**

 **Whoo, letting that all out was very therapeutic. Anyways, I don't want to start an argument or anything with all you Sam fans. I don't hate the dude, just… dislike him. A lot! However, Season 10 onwards, I started warming up to Sam as he began acting more like the brother Dean deserves.**

 **Now, Olivia: She's a daughter of Ares, in other words, she** _ **would**_ **have anger issues, right? Unlike Dean, she isn't able to mask her rage and act like everything is okay. She's incapable of bottling everything up but confronts her anger head on. Like Ares, like Clarisse… you get my point (Frank's an exception). Basically, Olivia won't hold back on Sam; she won't plaster on a smile and act like she isn't pissed at him and hurt by his actions. Heck, he left her when she was twelve, it's such a young, fragile age, it made an impact on Olivia, which in turn, made her even closer to Dean.**

 **However, Sam fans, I already have the moment planned for when Olivia and Sam begin talking it out and making amends. So chill out…. it's not permanent. =D**

 **Another A/N:** **I think I made it obvious with all the Apollo & Aphrodite loving.**

 **I'm not being biased, like I mentioned before, sooner or later, all characters will become OOC as the episodes progress. Athena and Hera might be redeemed later, that'll take time. Ares is slowly softening before he puts up a mask again, and back and forth and back and forth.**

 **The fight between Athena and Aphrodite however – most people** _ **assume**_ **that Aphrodite is weak and is only good at standing on the side and looking pretty or messing up with people's love lives. Hell, Rick Riordan made her look bad in the battle against the Giants, I mean, she blew petals or whatever at the Giant and let Piper do the rest…** _ **WTH**_ **?! So yeah, I'm changing things around here, just FYI, and I hope you enjoyed watching Athena's ass get kicked! ;)**

 **o**

 **A tiny** **spoiler** **for next chapter:**

 **You will be given insight into Dean and Olivia's relationship Their past!**

 **So excited! =D**

 **o**

 **To** _ **all**_ **my Lovely,** _ **Lovely**_ **Reviewers,** _ **thank you**_ **for all your wonderful and inspiring comments!**

 **To** **alexavier** **: Thank you for your kind comments! Every time I get a new reader, it just inspires me to continue, and your amazing comments… a total inspiration! :) – I do try, with the watchers' reaction. I try to make it more interesting and realistic. The revelation of demons was nothing… wait till Meg shows up ;)… Pagans: I got an entire plot planned for them & angels… well, you're excited to read about, and I can't wait to write it. I hope this chapter is to your liking and you'll stick around in the long run! XD**

 **To** **bloody lilith** **: Like I mentioned above, I barely tipped the iceberg in regards to the revelation of demons. Honestly, I felt like the Phantom Demon was a poor portrayal of Demons in general in SPN Universe. A reaction you** _ **have**_ **to look out for, is when Hades realizes that Hell** _ **does**_ **exist and it ain't the Fields of Punishment, honey. ;) – Honestly, I enjoy writing Ares bash Olivia, because it'll make it that much sweeter when he finally accepts her (not telling you when)! And yes, it** _ **will**_ **be worth it. Parental Ares, I haven't seen that done before, I can't wait to portray this unseen part of him. Your theories were wrong but only because I'm trying to make this story unique to others. Oh hell, Olivia will** _ **not**_ **take Uriel's shit… AT ALL! ;) So excited!**

 **To** **Saricaykes** **: Apollo? Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't recall them bumping into him. I think you mean Artemis and Zeus? Thank you for your comment! Totally helping to inspire me! XD But I won't give out spoilers… you'll just have to be patient. LOL!**

 **To** **Guest** **: Sorry, I've never watched Teen Wolf… I never saw the appeal to it. I know, I know, all you Teen Wolf Fans out there are probably gasping at that.** _ **Sorry**_ **…**

 **To** **JoySalvatore1** **: Oh God, that episode is** _ **hilarious**_ **. Dean's scream had me exploding into tears of laughter. I like to infuse humor and make it more realistic. I mean, I don't see the demigods sitting stiffly and barely commenting, it's just** _ **not**_ **who they are…. especially with their ADHD. There will be a deeper more intense discussion about Percy, Annabeth and Nico's fall to Tartarus, I didn't want it to steal the thunder of the existence of demons, you know what I mean? I'm leaving that to the gods and demigods' tête-à-tête that takes place between episodes or during breaks.**

 **To** **Orion Prime** **: Adam Milligan and Luke Castellan are two** _ **completely**_ **unrelated characters. Adam will still be portrayed by Jake Abel. I will, however, be changing Luke's Celebrity Face.**

 **To** **Guest** **: Wow… a lot of readers are fans of pairing Dean up with someone that made a vow of chastity. You want Dean to be paired with Thalia, while others want him with Artemis. I honestly haven't given the ultimate Winchester pairing much thought as it's still early, but I am open to suggestions.**

 **R &R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended**

 **A/N: ****Olivia Winchester – Victoria Justice.**

 **Chapter 6:**

No sooner had Hestia's warm announcement in regards to the upcoming congregation for dinner upon the culmination of one more episode pervade the room, did the large screen erupt into color, accompanied by an alarming outburst of some sort of a struggle and a torrent of activity, effectively cutting off the demigods' happy exclamations and sucking out their ebullience.

Most of the gods leaned forward in their respective thrones, their curiosity waxed, and only Ares appeared eager. His flaming sockets from behind his dark shades sparked at the promise of action, the flames dancing enthusiastically at what looked to be a promising _episode_ … ' _Finally!_ ' he inwardly breathed.

 **"** **It's ok. It's ok," an officer, completely decked in black, soothingly assured a bloodied girl with platinum blonde hair.**

 **Nodding hysterically, she lifted her hand and pointed a shaky finger to a room across the hall. "In there! In** ** _there_** **!" she cried out.**

"Holy _Styx_!" Leo breathed out in an odd combination of alarm and wonder the moment the camera shifted.

Multiple heads swiveled to the twitchy son of Hephaestus's direction, their visages mostly displaying confusion at his outburst.

Percy, his face tight with consternation and comprehending Leo's exclamation, elaborated while gesticulating wildly at the screen, "There's a _freaking_ S.W.A.T. team in tow!"

Hyperactive, Leo bobbed his head, his eyes unusually round, "Something _big_ must have happened to call in a S.W.A.T. unit! They're only called in to deal with dangerous situations and when _major_ firepower is needed."

Clearing her throat, Rachel matter-of-factly added, "And to subdue heavily armed criminals. Or rescue hostages."

Shaking his head, Percy gaped at the Latino and the redhead. "You guys are _totally_ missing the point! S.W.A.T. usually deals with _terr-O-rists_!" he purposely stretched the word out in an attempt to enunciate his point.

Ariadne hummed, her beautiful features lined with worry, "That is certainly distressing."

"It seems this case will be most upsetting," Aphrodite gasped, a hand clutched to her chest.

Eyes rolling aggressively, Ares vocally disagreed, "Don't know what you're all whinging about. We finally have some _action_!" He rubbed his hands together in glee, choosing to disregard the many expressions of disapproval directed his way and the disapproving scowl on his lover's face.

Aphrodite pursed her lips, and her retort sounded strained. "Yes. Action. _Action_ that will most likely involve _Olivia_ ," she pointedly glared at the God of War who, much to her irritation, reacted with a shrug of blatant insouciance.

"So…" he trailed off, eyes plastered to the screen.

Sighing at the lovers' imminent quarrel, Zeus silenced the room with one stern word, " _Enough_!"

Kaleidoscopic eyes narrowed briefly at her lover before returning to the screen just as the episode resumed.

 **In perfect synchronization, the S.W.A.T. unit moved toward the aforementioned room where the silhouette of a lean and muscled man, armed with a knife, could be seen attempting to open a set of sliding doors that led to the balcony.**

Cocking her head to the side, Aphrodite frowned as a suspicion arose and she internally mused over the familiar back and head of hair. "I feel like I should know him," she murmured, prompting Ares, Persephone, Apollo, Hermes and Poseidon to throw her a bemused side-glance.

 **"** ** _Freeze_** **! Don't move! Keep your hands where I can see 'em.** ** _Drop it_** **! Hold it right! …** ** _Do it_** **!" one of the officers bellowed, him and the rest of the unit's guns raised and aimed at the man's back. The intruder stilled.**

 **Slowly, the man turned his head, allowing the light to shine on his face – it was Dean Winchester.**

" _WHAT_!?" echoed loud and clear, the shocked exclamation reverberating aggressively against the four walls of the Throne Room.

 **The screen went black.**

"How? What? I, I, _what_?!" Frank stammered in confusion, eyes beseeching his friends for some plausible explanation.

However, the demigods, the lone satyr, and the Oracle wore identical expressions, all of them flabbergasted at the unexpected discovery.

"Dean isn't a terrorist _or_ a criminal!" Rachel adamantly shrieked, her face a striking red that matched her hair.

Dionysus raised a cynical brow, "What a sudden change of tune, Raquel."

Bristling at his _infuriating_ inclination to botch up her name, Rachel decided to tackle one offense at a time. "That's different! While I hate the fact that they continue to imitate important officials and constantly break the law, I _know_ they have good intentions! But this-" she waved an offending hand at the screen, "-the Winchesters have _never_ done _anything_ to cause a police squad trained in enforcing aggressive tactics on their doorstep! Dean _isn't_ a terrorist or a dangerous criminal!"

Calmly, Apollo addressed his Oracle, "Dionysus didn't mean any offense, sweetheart. Be calm."

This time, Rachel's face flushed red with mortification instead of outright anger.

The wine god smirked and as he returned to his magazine, he proceeded to hum tunelessly.

"I am certain this is all naught but a simple misunderstanding," Poseidon announced in his customary soothing baritone, smiling winsomely at the teenagers, all of whom bore expressions of indignation, confusion and worriment.

Deciding to make herself heard, Hera haughtily put in, " _If_ you are all done with your meaningless _chinwag_ then we _may_ proceed and comprehend what the _misunderstanding_ is all about. _Yes_?!"

Dagger-like glares pinned Hera down while her siblings and husband groaned into the palm of their hands. _Hera would never change_.

Sniffing at the teenagers in disdain, the Queen of Olympus glowered at them, daring them to disobey her. Unfortunately, she didn't take into account the fact that her step-children and even her own children made it a point to rile her up on a constant basis and test her limits, showing her naught but disrespect.

With a mischievous smirk that didn't bode well for anyone, Hermes clapped his hands together, "Well? You heard the old harridan, let's get on with it."

" _HERMES_!" came Hera's shrilly scream, prompting a few winces and ear rubs.

Subtle laughter travelled throughout the room at the sight of Hermes' broad and unconcerned smile at the face of a tongue-lashing from his purple-faced step-mother. In fact, when Hermes made a point to yawn boldly and cross his arms behind his head in utmost casualness, the laughter escalated, the Stolls and Chris bearing expressions of pride.

Zeus groaned for only Poseidon to hear, "It's a wonder how my hair has yet to turn completely grey. Between Hera and the children, I have absolutely no respite."

"I pity you, brother. Truly," Poseidon grinned, his expression belying his words of compassion.

 **The screen opened to show the Impala pull into a gas station, the words 'One Week Earlier' appearing at the bottom of the screen.**

"Dang it!" Connor huffed, his lips morphing into a small pout. "One week earlier? The suspense is _killing_ me here!"

Katie leaned over Travis to pat him on the shoulder. "You'll survive," her voice radiated mirth instead of sympathy.

The war god looked as though he was in agreement with the youngest son of Hermes. However, he smartly kept his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself. Since the revelation of the runt's punk of a cousin being the recipient of the S.W.A.T. Unit's ire, his beloved Affie has been downright irascible… and a quick scope around the room portrayed that she wasn't the only one.

 **"** **Alright, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight," Dean was saying. When neither Sam nor Liv offered a response, the former's eyes trained unblinkingly at the screen of his Palm Pilot, and the latter bent over a book, obviously absorbed as she twirled a pen between her fingers, Dean scowled. "Sam wears** ** _Olivia_** **'** **s underwear," he taunted.**

Cue laughter.

"That's one way of grabbing their attention," Annabeth giggled, her eyes alight with mirth.

Percy however, was surprisingly one of the few that hadn't laughed at Dean's comical attempt at getting a rise out of Sam and Liv, as his sea-green orbs devoured the actions of the girl in the backseat in palpable confusion. Once the short burst of laughter died out, he cleared his throat, and in pure disbelief, questioned, "What _is_ Liv doing? I mean, she's reading…for _fun_!"

Furiously scowling, Athena sneered, "There is _nothing_ wrong with enjoying a nice book, young man!"

Quick to come to the defense of the boy that was quickly becoming one of his favorite demigod cousins, Hermes drawled, "What Percy means to say, _dear sister_ , is how can Liv find a sense of gratification in reading while ailed with dyslexia."

"No matter, my previous statement stands, Hermes," Athena sniffed haughtily. "Despite the affliction, you will find that with practice, dyslexic people _can_ , in fact, read! It is simply a matter of patience and determination; two traits the young son of Poseidon _apparently_ lacks," she remarked rudely.

The ashamed groan of " _mother_ " that emanated from Annabeth's lips could only be heard by Percy as Poseidon's rage became known by volleying creative insults and threats at the indifferent goddess of wisdom.

Sighing, Percy cut in to his father's impressive ranter. Touched he may be, Percy had long ago gotten used to the general's poor opinion regarding his intelligence, and he found it to be advantageous. Percy preferred to be underestimated. " _Dad_! I appreciate you standing up for me, but you don't have to. I don't care what Athena thinks of me, and neither should you," he smiled, shrugging his shoulders for emphasis.

Sneering at Athena, the Sea God, upon detecting his son's honesty, acquiesced and leaned back in his throne, wounding an arm around Amphitrite's waist. Athena, on the other hand, grew even more incensed at the sight of the sea-spawn's genuine indifference, feeling _more than_ insulted. ' _Everyone should care about wisdom's opinion! How dare he?!_ ' she internally seethed, glaring daggers at the boy.

"That's one way to shut her up," Apollo smirked, his words muttered for only Hermes' ear.

 **Jotting down in the book, Liv absentmindedly remarked, "Nice try, Dean. They don't fit Sam."**

 **Dean rolled his eyes, though the corner of his lips tugged into a smirk.**

"That's _all_ she has to say," Hazel gaped in disbelief, shaking her head in the process. In her days, if a boy, relative or not, made a comment about her underpants, it would be marked as a huge offense and completely disrespectful to the girl in question. ' _The 21_ _st_ _century is so odd…_ ' she mused.

Leo chuckled softly, "She's like _the_ perfect picture of indifference. I swear."

 **Sam snorted. "I've been listenin', I'm just busy reading e-mails," he said as Dean got out of the car and started filling the tank with gas. Eyebrows arched, Dean offhandedly demanded, "E-mails from who?"**

"Nosy much?" Clarisse, who was obviously quite taken with Sam, much to Chris's chagrin, scoffed.

 **Sam's response of, "From my friends at Stanford," was drowned by Liv's loud cheer of, "** ** _Aha_** **! Purloin. Eat that!" as she hastily jotted something down. Finally looking up from her book, Liv blinked at her cousins, "** ** _What_** **?"**

 **While Dean looked amused, shaking his head fondly at her, Sam's expression was heavy with confusion, his brown orbs flickering from her to the book and back again.**

" _Ohhhh_!" comprehension dawned on the Oracle. "Liv's doing a crossword puzzle."

Arching a brow at the ditzy redhead, Thalia asked, "And how'd you come to _that_ conclusion?"

Rachel shrugged and waved a hand at the screen, "My grandmother's _obsessed_ with crossword puzzles and Sudoku. I'd recognize those books anywhere."

 **"** **What do you mean '** ** _what_** **'** **?! Purloin?" Sam snappishly inquired.**

 **Huffing, Liv closed the neon-blue covered book and tossed it onto the seat beside her before stretching. "Uncle John's been getting me all sorts of books with anagram games and crossword puzzles to help with my dyslexia," she elaborated with a half-shrug, her expression bored as she laced her fingers through her golden-brown hair and untangled a few unruly curls. "He thought that if I became an expert in solving anagrams, reading would be easier since words have a habit of rearranging themselves in my head. Props to Uncle J though, his idea had merit," she smirked.**

"That's… that's _ingenious_!" Hestia complimented, eyes alight with adoration as though she were proud of the mortal man.

Aphrodite seemed to share Hestia's amazement, "My mind is at ease knowing that Olivia has an outstanding father figure to look up to, one that doesn't begrudge the poor dear for her ailment."

Gritting his teeth, Ares' mask of practiced unconcern made an abrupt appearance and he created a subtle distance from his lover. While he knew her words lacked any bite toward him, and that she would never dare judge him so harshly, especially in regards to their demigod children, the comment hit below the belt and Ares couldn't help but feel slighted.

For her part, Athena was rendered speechless and even Artemis found herself dumfounded at the plethora of positive thoughts that infiltrated her mind in reference to the mortal _man_ , John Winchester.

" _Ingenious_ doesn't quite cover it! Why didn't _I_ think of that?!" Annabeth adopted a tone of incredulity, mentally beating herself up.

Demeter hummed aloud before she decided to propose an idea, "I believe it best to inform Chiron of this _wonderful_ idea. Perhaps he could stock Camp Half-Blood with such books to help train our children."

Zeus nodded in wholehearted agreement, "It shall be done." While internally, he couldn't help but feel contempt over the fact that a mere mortal solved an adverse dilemma that dumfounded them all, finding such aid demeaning to the gods, and most especially himself, the _King_ of Gods.

 **Sam adopted an open-mouthed and wide-eyed expression before he turned to Dean, his disposition morphing into skepticism. Dean rolled his eyes and nodded, "It's true. Dad came up with the idea as a sort of schooling system since we spend most of our time on the road and Liv's dyslexia made her vulnerable."**

 **"** **Why so surprised?" Liv sneered, her disposition morphing from bored to hostile. "Surprised Uncle John has a parental bone in his body? Or is it the fact that he cares for something other than hunting and vengeance, like oh, I dunno,** ** _my wellbeing_** **!?"**

"This tension between Samuel and John would end with explosive results," Ariadne mused, a tinge of worry detected in her tone and on her gorgeous face.

Will frowned in contemplation, "I sort of understand Liv's animosity with Sam. If you think about it, John's not only her uncle, but basically the only parental figure in her life, one that she actually has any memories of. And ever since Sam joined them, all he could do is spout off negative comments about John. It's natural for Liv to go on the defense. He isn't exactly endearing himself to her, especially since he walked out on her at a young age."

"True. Well done, son," Apollo beamed in pride, prompting a sheepish blush out of his son.

Thalia however, didn't quite agree. "You're forgetting Dean, Will. The way I see it, Dean's as much a parent to Liv as John is."

"Yeah, but Dean's technically her cousin," Percy pointed out as though it was obvious.

Before Thalia could argue any further, Will backed Percy up, the soft smile on his face alleviating Thalia's temper, as they all knew how much Thalia hated to be proven wrong. "I doubt John would allow Liv to drink alcohol, swear like a sailor, or even flirt with men to get answers. Dean might hold authority over Liv, but John _is_ the true parent she needs in her life."

Crossing her arms together, Thalia grudgingly nodded in comprehension.

"Now that you're all done psychoanalyzing the runt's _daddy issues_ , can we get on with the damned _episode_!" Ares raged, a pronounced sneer on his handsome face.

Aphrodite pursed her lips, repressing a squeal of joy at the _obvious_ sensation of envy she could sense radiating from her lover and she sent a clandestine wink of victory to Apollo, who had an amused smirk on his breathtaking face, he too, having come to the same conclusion as the love goddess, his current partner-in-crime.

"Jeez, temper, temper," Percy murmured with an eye roll, prompting a few groans from his friend.

"What was that _Jackson_?!" the war god sneered, glaring daggers at the demigod in question.

Raising both hands in the universal gesture of surrender, Percy smiled disarmingly, "Nothing. Nothing."

Reaching over, Annabeth smacked her boyfriend at the back of his head, "No sense of self-preservation _whatsoever_!"

 **"** **Why do you** ** _always_** **have to be so aggressive?!" Sam angrily demanded, turning around in the passenger seat to meet her glare head on.**

A few pointed stares drilled into Ares, all of which went unnoticed.

 **Angrily folding her arms together, Liv heatedly retorted, "** ** _Why do you_** **make it a point to devalue Uncle John?!"**

 **"** ** _Knock it off_** **!" Dean snapped in exasperation, rubbing his temples in irritation. "Both of you, retract your claws. Sam, turn around. Liv, look away," he ordered. The two cousins, like naughty toddlers, reluctantly followed Dean's orders. "** ** _Now_** **," he pointedly addressed his still scowling brother. "What were you telling me?"**

Hestia beamed, "I like Dean Winchester."

Artemis made a face; it looked like a smelly sock was placed under her nose. "Yes, as far as men go… Dean Winchester is not _as_ bad," getting such a comment out of the virgin goddess resembled an attempt of pulling teeth.

Unbeknownst to Artemis, Hermes and Apollo were keeping count of the number of times she complimented the Winchester men, Dean in particular.

 **From the backseat, Liv aggressively answered, "He was illuminating us on the fact that he** ** _actually has_** **friends."**

"Rude," Katie frowned.

Persephone shook her head at Olivia, "Such attitude is most unbecoming."

"It's in her genes, she can't help it," Apollo smirked, swiftly ducking just in time as a crude knife sailed through the air, propelled in his direction. "Missed me, bro," he grinned, eyes twinkling at an infuriated Ares.

Holding his hand out, the knife sailed back into Ares' hand. "Next time, I won't," the war god promised.

"Can't wait," Apollo grinned good-naturedly.

Hera rolled her eyes, not bothering to chastise her son for throwing sharp objects around _or_ for threatening his brother with pain. Such attitude from Ares was actually quite tame, while Apollo's current behavior was entirely expected.

 **"** ** _Olivia_** **!" Dean sharply rebuked.**

"Ooh! Full name. Abort, abort! He means business," Leo dramatically cried out, his hands flailing overhead.

 **"** **I do recall telling you to** ** _retract your claws_** **." Liv huffed, a deep scowl marring her pretty face and she looked away. Keeping his stern gaze on her for a moment longer, Dean nodded to himself and met Sam's grumpy gaze. "Right. So… why exactly are you still keeping in touch with your college buddies?"**

 **Completely bemused, Sam shot back, "Why not?"**

"Yeah, why not? There's nothing wrong with that," Clarisse grunted. Due to her success in balancing her demigod duties and living a normal life by attending the University of Arizona and visiting Camp Half-Blood on most weekends, Clarisse was a hundred percent on Sam's side in regards to this particular debate.

 **Liv made a disbelieving noise though she smartly kept her mouth shut, choosing to glare at the back of Sam's head instead. Rubbing his forehead, Dean slowly uttered, "Well, what exactly do you tell 'em? You know, about where you've been, what you've been doin'?"**

"He doesn't _have_ to tell them anything. It's none of their business," Thalia remarked with a shrug.

Jason snorted, his eyes alight with humor as he looked at his sister, "Right. Like you, Queen of Stubborn, would ever let something like that go without pressing for answers."

Adopting a look of innocence that nobody bought, Thalia retorted, "Yeah, but we're not talking about me, right now. This is about _Sam._ "

"Horrible save," Nico smirked.

The daughter of Zeus glared at him, "Shut up, Death Breath!"

 **Sam shrugged, "I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother and my pain in the ass of a cousin." Due to his quick reflexes and accurate prediction, Sam ducked the blow Liv had aimed to the back of his head. "I tell 'em I needed some time off after Jess," he continued, but not before shooting a smug look at a seething Liv.**

 **Dean glared at the heavens in a 'why me' gesture as Liv joined the conversation, "So you lie to them. Smooth Sammy-boy. Friend of the year."**

"There's nothing wrong with lying to your friends…" Percy sheepishly cut himself off at the multiple glares aimed at his person. Much to the amusement of Poseidon, Triton, Hermes, Apollo, Ares, Dionysus and Hestia, he quickly changed his tune, "I mean, lying is _very bad_. Especially when it comes to your friends."

Jason shook his head in amazement, "Wow, Perce. You really do lack a normal sense of self-preservation."

"Yeah. Sometimes I really do wonder how you managed to survive past your sixteenth birthday. If you were anybody else, you would've been dead ages ago," Thalia airily added.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Thanks guys. Really appreciate the sentiment," he dryly quipped.

"Nothing wrong with being _honest_ ," Jason grinned.

Poseidon's previous amusement instantly expired at the Grace siblings' comments.

 **"** **Like you're one to talk. You couldn't even hold on to the only friend you had," Sam shot back.**

"Now that was harsh," Connor frowned.

Leo glared daggers at Sam, loathing the dude for insulting his sexy chica.

"Oh, Samuel…" Aphrodite sighed, her voice trailing off at the raw pain that flittered onto Olivia's face, an expression none of the gods missed due to their impeccable eyesight, and if she identified Ares subtly clenching his fist, she made no note of it and remained dutifully oblivious.

 **Dean sucked in a sharp intake of breath, "Liv-"**

 **A stony-faced Liv hopped out of the Impala and aggressively slammed the door shut. "I'm going for a coffee run," she coldly imparted and without sparing the brothers a second glance, she stormed into the convenience store situated beside the gas station.**

 **Leveling his gaze to a slightly guilty-looking Sam, Dean snapped, "That was uncalled for. I know Liv has a special knack for getting on people's nerves and pushing their limits, but… damn it, Sam. You can't go around saying things like that to her!"**

 **"** ** _She_** **started it!" he petulantly grumbled.**

"Immature," Leo grumbled under his breath, unable to let go of the grudge he had against Sam for hurting the gorgeous brunette's feelings.

 **"** ** _She_** **is our baby cousin, Sam!" Dean chastised him, his expression solemn. "It's** ** _our job_** **to protect her** ** _not_** **hurt her. If you stuck around, you would know that Bennett is a taboo subject. No matter what, you can never,** ** _ever_** **, under** ** _any_** **circumstance, bring them up! Even** ** _if_** **Liv pissed you off!"**

Aphrodite, having caught Dean's slip of the tongue, uttered, "Them?"

"Apparently Olivia has many skeletons in her closet," Dionysus offhandedly mumbled, flipping to the next page and taking a sip of Diet Coke.

"The suspense is _killing_ me here," Connor groaned, Travis, Chris, Rachel, Katie, Thalia, Nico, Percy and Leo nodding in unison to the youngest son of Hermes' statement.

Contemplating the latest discovery, Aphrodite pondered aloud, "If I were to hazard a guess, I believe that not only did Olivia get spurned by a friend, but a lover as well."

Artemis scoffed. "You're reaching, Aphrodite. Just because you _want_ a tragic love story, doesn't mean there _is_ one," she sneered.

"I do recall saying ' _hazard a guess_ ', Artemis. There is no need to get your granny panties in a twist," Aphrodite casually volleyed back, not allowing the virgin princess's words or _charming_ temperament to affect her.

Before the infamous argument between Aphrodite and Artemis could begin, Zeus quickly interfered, gaining him brownie points with Hestia. "How about you discuss this thrilling conversation on your own time; is that agreeable?!" he ensured to use the special tone of voice that brooked no augment and the two goddesses had no choice but to obey.

 **"** **Them?" Sam, too, caught Dean's slip up.**

"Perceptive mortal," Hades hummed.

 **Imitating a deer caught in the headlights, Dean hastened to backtrack, "I meant,** ** _Keane_** **. Never bring him up." and with that, Dean replaced the nozzle and clambered into the driver's seat.**

 **Sam turned his body to confront Dean, his expression one of determination and disbelief. "I'm not an idiot, Dean. You said** ** _them_** **. Meaning somebody other than Keane Bennett hurt Liv." When Dean adamantly avoided his intensive gaze and drummed his fingers nervously against the steering wheel, Sam snapped in frustration, "** ** _Why_** **won't you or Liv tell me anything. Am I** ** _that_** **untrustworthy?! We're family, Dean-"**

Ares couldn't help but share Sam's frustration. He, too, wished Dean or the runt would fess up; he wanted to know every single secret Olivia Winchester stashed in the back of her closet and the identity of every person that dared to harm her…. ' _No,_ ' he quashed such unwanted thoughts away. ' _I will not fall victim to the runt's spell. She means_ nothing _to me!_ '

 **"** **I know! Okay! I know," Dean sighed into his hand. "I want to tell you. I really do. But, it's not up to me. It's up to Liv. And Liv, man, she made it clear that she doesn't want you to know anything. So just… just drop it."**

 **Before Sam could argue any further, the door opened and Liv slid into the backseat, wordlessly handing the brothers a large styrofoam cup of their preferred coffee. Ignoring their muffled thanks and Sam's guilty expression, she casually inquired, "So… where we heading?"**

"How sweet!" Demeter cooed. "Despite her quarrel with Sam, she was big enough to extend an olive branch."

Hades stared at her in visible disbelief, " _That's_ what you interpreted in this exchange?! Are you completely blind to the fact that Olivia has decided to, once again, bury her feelings and ignore her problems?"

Smirking at her brother/son-in-law like the cat that caught the canary, Demeter said, "So you _are_ fond of the demigod. Is that concern I detect, Hades?"

Fidgeting uncomfortably in his dark throne, Hades glowered at Demeter, "Don't be ridiculous, Demeter. I am merely stating a fact."

Persephone giggled into her hand, quickly disguising it as a cough when her husband's dark orbs bored into hers.

Indignant, Dionysus abruptly shut his magazine, purple orbs flaring, "Why is it when _I_ claim such a statement, my precious magazines combust into ash?!"

"Don't be dramatic," Hera rolled her eyes.

Dionysus harrumphed before training an impressive glare at Hephaestus, who continued tinkering, choosing to ignore the wine god's whinging.

"Who bloody cares either way," Ares growled, unable to believe his cantankerous uncle who cared for nothing but his precious Persephone, was actually adopting a soft spot for the accursed runt.

Glaring at her lover, Aphrodite snapped, "Apparently everyone _but_ _you_!"

 **"** **Still undecided. I was too busy explaining to Sammy here that with our job, we can't get close to people,** ** _period_** **," Dean stated.**

 **Sam scoffed, his attention returning to his e-mails, "You're kind of anti-social, you know?"**

 **"** **And a hypocrite to boot," Liv snorted, mirth in her eyes as she guzzled her coffee. "You had no problem getting close to a couple of girls, Dean."**

 **Glaring halfheartedly at her, Dean snapped, "** ** _That_** **is in the 'Do Not Discuss' pile, Liv."**

"More secrets. Great," Travis groaned.

Frank voiced his disagreement, "Doesn't sound like secrets. Looks like Dean dated a couple of girls while on the road."

"If that's the case then a 'Do Not Discuss' pile should be nonexistent," Annabeth pointed out.

 **"** **God…" Sam's sudden exclamation gathered the other two's attention and they stared at him inquiringly. "In this e-mail from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine-"**

 **"** **Is she hot?" Dean interrupted.**

" _Swine_ ," Artemis hissed, her opinion of Dean Winchester changing once more.

Apollo looked to be in accord with Dean, on the other hand. "What? It's a valid question."

" _Of course_ you would think so," Artemis harshly bit back, seemingly unsurprised with her brother's perpetual bachelor ways.

 **Liv chuckled, "I** ** _knew_** **you'd say that. You're becoming predictable, Deanie."**

 **"** **Zip it, Ollie," he retorted, smirking at the look of irritation that colored her visage due to her aversion of the nickname.**

"I cannot stand such disgraceful behavior any longer," Artemis groused, her silver orbs glowing with potent rage. "Dean, I comprehend. He is a philandering, contemptible male, and thus, I expect such _deplorable_ misconduct. But Olivia? She is a girl! She should not _encourage_ his treatment of women!"

Unable to maintain her quiet streak in the face of Artemis' damning declaration of the demigod she had grown immeasurably fond of and was beginning to look up to, Piper snarled, "Liv did no such thing! Dean respects women, otherwise Liv would be treated like an object. You, yourself, admire Dean, you just can't allow yourself to admit it, preferring to take the easy route by sticking to denial! There's nothing wrong with Dean appreciating the physical beauty of women!"

Artemis was apoplectic with rage, her ivory complexion flushed red.

"And for your _information_ ," Piper wasn't finished yet, taking strength from the look of pride her mother bestowed her with. "I've said it once and I'll say it again, women are guilty of admiring men and talking about their physical appearance, just like Dean just did! The only reason this is _news_ to you, is because you segregate yourself from the rest of society, surrounding yourself with the company of women that share the same ideals as you. Maybe if you went out more often, or spent an afternoon with women who enjoy sex and men, then _maybe_ , just _maybe_ , you'd stop making such biased and derogatory remarks!"

Upon her conclusion, Rachel and every demigod but Thalia, applauded the daughter of Aphrodite, and even the gods appeared taken aback by Piper's impassioned speech.

"She means no disrespect, sister," Hermes hastened to assuage her anger. "But the girl _does_ make a decent point."

Hecate nodded, smiling warmly at the incensed goddess of the hunt, "Over four millennia and you still cannot find it in yourself to comprehend that not everyone shares your principles on men."

"Preposterous-"

Poseidon gently interrupted his niece, "Free will, niece of mine. The times have changed, and free will is quite popular now. Embrace it, dear."

Piper had officially become Ares' favorite demigod child his lover birthed.

 **Sam ignored them. "I went to school with her, and her brother, Zach-"**

 **This time, Liv chose to interrupt, "Is he hot?"**

Smug, Piper's gaze met Artemis' horrified silver orbs. "Case in point," was all she had to say.

"Dean and Liv are like two peas in a pod," Apollo chuckled, finding humor in the entire situation while Aphrodite found vindictive pleasure in Artemis' current disposition.

Surprised, not having expected Olivia to make such a comment, Ares choked on a growl, orbs flaring at the screen.

 **Dean scowled, "** ** _Not. Funny._** **"** **But Liv simply smirked, wiggling her fingers at him while Sam continued to ignore them.**

"Hypocrite," Rachel stuck her tongue at the screen. "It's a typical quality shared by 96% of the male population, _especially_ elder siblings or relatives."

Katie adopted a 'tell me about it' expression before huffing out, "I _know_. My cousin Derek, he flirts with anything in a skirt, collects numbers, and indulges in many one-night-stands-"

Each word emanating from Katie's lips prompted Artemis, Athena and Hera to pale and seethe, appalled at such distasteful, scandalous behavior.

"Basically, your cousin is Barney Stinson," Piper smirked, amused; she, like her mother, took vindictive pleasure in Artemis, Athena and Hera's reactions.

Katie curtly nodded. "Exactly. _Anyways_ , and this is before you plucked up the courage to ask me out, Trav," she hastened to reassure her boyfriend, who didn't like where the conversation was going. "My cousin Sandra made a house party to celebrate her graduating high school and a couple of her classmates asked me to dance, one of them insisting for my number. When Derek found out, he blew a gasket and went all overprotective, alpha male on me, _embarrassing_ me in the process!" she fumed.

Travis ground out through gritted teeth, "Well, I personally don't see anything wrong with that!"

Thalia snorted, amused, "Of course _you wouldn't_. You're jealous."

"J-Je- _Jealous_? _Pfft_ , I'm not _jealous_ ," Travis spluttered, indignant.

Blushing at the attention fixated on her, especially from the gods, most of whom shared Thalia's amusement, Katie defensively retorted, "That's not _my point_! My point _is_ that guys are such _hypocrites_! Derek had just left a girl in his bedroom and he had the audacity to _yell at me_ for _just_ _dancing_ with a guy! I mean, _come on_!"

The teenagers broke into argument after Katie concluded her point. The boys were quite passionately defending Derek and Dean's actions while the girls furiously rebuffed them, not appreciating their hypocrisy, and all the while, the gods observed the discord in various states of amusement, disinterest, and incredulity.

Five minutes later, Poseidon grabbed Zeus' attention, subtly inclining his head towards Hera's direction. The Queen of Olympus was practically frothing at the mouth, a vein bulging in her forehead and he knew his wife was seconds away from screaming herself hoarse at the demigods for wasting her time. Taking matters into his own hands, Zeus cleared his throat, disrupting the demigods and the oracle from their intense dispute, much to Dionysus, Hermes and Apollo's disappointment as the three gods had been greatly enjoying the entertaining scene.

Unfortunately, Ares would have shared his brothers' sentiment, if only Olivia wasn't a subject starring in their heated debate.

 **"** **Like I was** ** _saying_** **," Sam snapped, giving Dean and Liv his trademark bitch face. "Rebecca says Zach's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."**

"What kind of friends does he keep," Percy gaped at the screen, blinking in shock.

Clarisse rolled her eyes, "Well obviously this Rebecca chick's going to be an accessory to murder to protect her brother. Her opinion doesn't really count."

"Unless there's something supernatural about it," Ariadne theorized.

Hecate frowned, "Doubtful. This could simply be a mortal dilemma."

 **Stunned, Dean stared at Sam, "Dude, what kind of people are you hangin' out with?"**

"That's what I said," Percy pointed out.

 **Sam adamantly shook his head, "No, man, I know Zach. He's no killer."**

 **"** **Well, maybe you know Zach as well as he knows you," Dean arched a brow pointedly.**

"I hate to say it, but I _must_ admit Dean is being reasonable. Samuel is compromised by his friendship and his personal feelings towards this mortal," Athena sagely stated.

Hazel nodded. In fact, most of the room seemed to be in agreement with Dean.

 **Once again choosing to ignore Dean, Sam stubbornly decided, "They're in St. Louis. We're goin'."**

 **Leaning forward and looping her arms around Dean's headrest, Liv glared at Sam, her expression one of disbelief, "Uh,** ** _no_** **, we're not! The way I see it, this is a Sam-Zach-Rebecca problem and not** ** _our_** **kind of problem. Our time would be better spent helping somebody that actually needs it instead of solving the woes of Ivy League life, m'kay?!"**

"Nicely put," Clarisse grunted.

"Yeah, she just needs to tone down on the passive aggressive behavior," Annabeth commented.

Artemis inwardly sighed, fully capable of commiserating with the young demigod and her philanderer of a cousin. When it came to a hunt – eviscerating monsters from the earth and saving future innocents from death – the only reason she would _ever_ abandon one, is if her family, _especially_ Apollo, was in desperate need for her aid, or, most irritating, if she was summoned to an emergency meeting at Olympus.

 **Scowling at her, Sam argued, "It is our problem. They're** ** _my_** **friends."**

 **"** **Exactly.** ** _Your_** **friends. Not** ** _ours_** **. Do the math, Sammy-boy.** ** _Your_** **friends, equals,** ** _your_** **problem," Liv stressed.**

 **"** **St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam," Dean spoke up, deciding to be the voice of reason. But Sam simply glared at him before meeting Liv's hostile gaze, "What if** ** _your_** **friends were in trouble? Would you be singing the same tune?"**

 **Planting his face into the steering wheel, Dean groaned.**

"You gotta give Sam some credit. He's _incredibly_ stubborn," Percy chuckled. "How many times was he warned not to broach this subject with Liv?"

Jason smirked, "Guy's got a death wish."

"Yeah, provoking a kid of Ares' ire…not pretty," Leo gulped, having had a few experiences with Clarisse and Sherman Yang, the current head counselor of the Ares Cabin at Camp Half-Blood.

Ares was torn between pride and frustration – pride at his children's reputation, and frustration over the fact that Olivia had indeed, despite his many litany of denials, inherited his violent temper.

 **She didn't rise to the bait. Instead, Liv sighed in slight resignation, "You don't give up, do you?" Sam met her gaze unblinkingly, unwilling to stand down. Studying her nails in a manner of forced nonchalance, Liv drawled out, "I don't have** ** _any_** **friends, Sam. So can't help ya there.** ** _But_** **, if I did, and it wasn't a supernatural dilemma, I'd leave 'em to rot. We're not springing some dude out of prison, Sam. That's** ** _not_** **our gig!"**

 **The screen turned black.**

"Olivia makes an excellent point," Athena decided. "While I understand Samuel's concern, I do not believe 'tis a matter that calls for their expertise."

Artemis inclined her head in agreement, "I concur. Perhaps this mortal needs a criminal lawyer. Not a hunter."

Percy knew that if he were in Sam's shoes, not that he _wanted to be_ , that he would drop everything to be there for a friend in need, and because of that, he couldn't help but comment, "One day out of their hunting schedule won't hurt, just long enough to check on his friend and leave."

Clarisse arched a brow at him, "Since when are you on the Sam bandwagon?"

The gods fixated their attention onto the son of Poseidon, confused at his sudden change of heart.

Annabeth smiled knowingly, admiration coloring her next words, "Percy could never abandon a friend in need, you know that Clarisse."

The daughter of Ares halfheartedly rolled her eyes and a light blush materialized on Percy's cheek.

"Beware Seaweed Brain's fatal flaw," Thalia playfully nudged him.

' _To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world,_ ' the impassive, yet judgmental words imparted to him by Athena flooded the recess of Percy's mind, and he squirmed uncomfortably in his place between Grover and Annabeth, and he made a herculean effort to ignore the piercing grey orbs that were drilling a hole in his head from the aforementioned goddess.

Thankfully, Jason came to Percy's aid, "I'm with Perce on this one. So the Winchesters lose a day of hunting. They can sacrifice a day so that Sam can check on his friend. It's not that a big a deal."

"You're all pretty certain there won't be a case in St. Louis," Rachel piped up, staring at her friends in surprise, which in turn, surprised the demigods and the lone satyr.

Clarisse blinked a couple of times, her face shining with disbelief, "Jeez, Loony Tune! Where've you been all this time, La-La-Land?"

The Oracle pinpointed Clarisse with a narrowed, lethal-looking glare, but before she could retaliate, the son of Mars interjected.

"You think something supernatural is going on?" Frank inquired, his expression dubious.

"You don't?" the Oracle retorted, her disposition mirroring Frank's. "We shouldn't just jump to conclusions, guys. I don't know about you, but I haven't been able to get the first scene out of my head. If S.W.A.T.'s after Dean, I don't care what you say, something isn't right."

Pride coursed through Apollo; Rachel Elizabeth Dare was quickly turning out to be one of his favorite Oracles in millennia – not counting his poor Delilah, who had been dealt a crappy hand. "Well said, Rachel. Well said," he grinned, prompting a pretty blush out of the redhead.

Hermes gaped at his brother in shock, "You agree with your Oracle?"

" _Of course_. Why wouldn't I?" Apollo smirked, winking at Rachel.

Shaking her head, Piper vocalized her opinion, "Rach, while I agree with you regarding the Dean situation, I'm not so sure about St. Louis. I mean, the first scene happens in _one week_. There might not be anything there to find. For all we know, whatever's going on with Dean, that could happen _after_ they leave St. Louis-"

" _If_ they even stop by St. Louis," Grover interjected.

Nico snorted, "Oh trust me, they're going. While Liv has no problem saying no to Sam, Dean's an entirely different case."

"Hmm, let us find out then, shall we," Poseidon jovially concluded, putting an end to the discussion as all eyes returned to the screen.

 **The shot focused on a door opening from the inside, showing a pretty girl with platinum-blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. A jovial smile suddenly lit up her face at the sight of her guests and the camera focused on Sam and Dean, an impassive Liv loitering in the background.**

"What did I tell you," Nico rhetorically stated, his dark orbs intently fixated on Liv, a spark of amusement in its dark depths. "And _boy_ , does Liv look _pissed_."

Chris, the Stolls and Leo chuckled.

Hecate clucked her tongue, eyes intent on the blonde woman, "Unfortunately, it seems that there is indeed something amiss with Samuel's friends." Noting a few inquiring looks leveled at her, the goddess elucidated, "I believe that woman, is the Rebecca Warren Samuel spoke of, and she is the same woman that directed the S.W.A.T. unit to Dean at the start of this… _episode_."

" _I knew it_ ," Rachel hissed for only Connor's ears.

Apollo jolted suddenly, a light shiver caressing him and he reached out with his hand to vigorously rub his forehead, a prominent scowl marring his breathtaking features.

Noting her brother's discomfort, Artemis inquired in concern, "Apollo, whatever is the matter?"

"I-, I've got a bad feeling about St. Louis. I don't know… it's like a… a _feeling_. Which makes sense if you think about it, I mean… St. Louis _is_ consistently ranked to be among the most dangerous cities in the United States, but… the Winchesters in St. Louis, it's giving me all sorts of bad vibes. Those three are better off far away from that place, _mark my words_ ," the god of prophecy ominously elucidated.

A plethora of concerned and apprehensive orbs locked onto each other at the end of Apollo's morbid disclosure.

The hair on the nape of Ares' neck stood up, and he subtly rubbed a muscled forearm as though to taper off the sudden goosebumps eruption. While Apollo had a great love for goofing off and _mostly_ treated serious matters with an air of flippancy, despite them butting heads, Ares knew his laidback brother – though not nearly as well as Hermes and Artemis – but well enough. And Ares _knew_ , since Prophecy was _his_ jurisdiction, his instincts were spot on – frighteningly so; and he could feel it… the ominously declared words pertaining the mortal hunters and St. Louis held a certain power to it, almost a sense of foresight. But what mostly disturbed Ares, was the smidge of concern he could feel blooming in his belly… concern over not only the runt, but her two punk-ass cousins, and the God of War didn't like that _at all_!

Offering her silent support, Aphrodite weaved her dainty hand in his large one.

Unlike the gods however, the demigods and Grover were blissfully unaware of the troubling thoughts the gods shared. On the other hand, Rachel found herself gazing at her patron in contemplation, definitely on a different wavelength from her friends.

Clapping his hands together in an effort to dispel the tension Apollo's words generated, Hermes forced a casual grin on his face, "And on that cheerful note, let's proceed."

 **"** **Oh my God,** ** _Sam_** **!" Rebecca happily exclaimed. A large smile took over Sam's visage, "Well, if it isn't little Becky."**

 **She smiled cheekily, "You know what you can do with that little Becky crap." She closed the distance and the two friends hugged.**

 **"** **I got your e-mail," Sam said by way of explanation.**

During the entirety of their exchange, Nico's amused gaze never left Liv's form, a small smile forming on his face as he imagined steam billowing out of her ears. Or perhaps emitted from her nose like a menacing dragon.

 **"** **I didn't think that you would come here," Rebecca spoke up.**

 **Liv let out an irate noise. "Yeah, well, majority ruled.** ** _Majority_** **turned out to be a** ** _jackass_** **," she aimed a sardonic smile at Dean in particular.**

"Kitty's got claws," Leo bounced excitedly.

"A jackalope is a more suitable term," Artemis smirked, a devious glint in her silver eyes.

Amphitrite let out a tinkling laugh, oceanic blue orbs twinkling with mirth, much like her husband's trademark sea-greens. "I _adore_ her sass."

The love goddess giggled in agreement, watching the golden-brown haired demigod in fond admiration which prompted a grimace out of the war god – he didn't want his beloved Affie to get attached to the disappointing runt.

' _Denial, denial, denial,_ ' the singsong voices of Apollo and Hermes echoed once again in Ares' head, but he quickly stomped on such thoughts.

 **Unbothered by her anger, Dean simply rolled his eyes and extended his hand to a bemused Rebecca, "Dean. Older brother. And little miss sunshine over there is our baby cousin,** ** _Olivia_** **."**

 **Liv hissed at him.**

"Their antics strongly resemble Apollo and Artemis," Hermes smirked at the twins.

Persephone laughed, "Except they're much too tame."

The twin archers huffed in indignation, none of them bothering to voice out their disagreement.

 **Rebecca stared at her with wary eyes until Sam grabbed her attention, smiling good-naturedly at her, "We're here to help. Whatever we can do."**

 **Inviting them in, the camera showed a quick tour of the living room as Dean complimented its interior. "It's my parents'. I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zach's free," Rebecca informed them.**

 **"** **Where are your folks?" Sam inquired.**

 **"** **They live in Paris for half the year-**

An ear-shattering squeal pervaded the room, courtesy of Aphrodite. " _Je t'aime_!"

"Yes, yes, we get it. Paris, France, the City of Love, moving on," Athena drawled in a monotone.

Shooting Athena a scandalized look, Aphrodite randomly burst into speech, "While it may sound odd coming forth from my lips, _but_ Love is not _all_ that the city has to offer! …Paris is the only city where you can step out of a railway station and see the Seine with its bridges and bookstalls, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Tuileries Gardens, the Place de la Concorde, the beginning of the Champs Elysees…" She trailed off, dreamy-eyed before she met Ares' fond gaze with a beguiling pout, "We should visit _Mon_ _Amour_ , and soon. Yes?"

Not bothering to disguise his love, Ares didn't skip a beat, "Your wish, my command."

"A love-stricken, sappy Ares is so surreal," Percy breathed out in shocked awe, ensuring only his fellow friends heard him, including a nauseated Clarisse.

Annabeth, on the other hand, had a confused frown on her face, "I know that line… That's Margaret Anderson!"

Amused, Aphrodite's kaleidoscopic orbs glittered in her direction, "Yes, it is. I personally inspired dear Margie."

Athena scoffed, but one glare from Zeus ensured her silence. Her previous skirmish with Aphrodite was still raw and fresh in her mind, and her pride suffered a huge blow. ' _I'll bid my time, and then strategically hit her from behind,_ ' she vowed her retribution.

 **-so they're on their way home now for the trial," she led them into the kitchen. "Do you guys want a beer or something?"**

 **An instant smile appeared on Dean's face and even Liv looked like she was about to accept the offer, but Sam quickly interjected, "No, thanks. So, tell us what happened."**

"Buzzkill," Jason huffed, his opinion of Sam diminishing again.

Hestia frowned, "As a proper hostess, she shouldn't allow Sam to decide for poor Dean and Olivia. A proper lady of the house would nevertheless provide refreshments."

"Yes, well, she's a mortal," Hera spat out, as though her reasoning made perfect sense.

Vicious scowls were thrown at the Queen of Gods, who glared back, wholly unperturbed.

"Mortal is not synonymous to barbarian, Hera," Demeter lightly chastised her younger sister, though her brothers and Hestia sensed the bite in her tone.

Hera petulantly rolled her eyes, "To each their own, sister dear."

" _Bitch_!" Thalia mumbled under her breath.

 **Liv shot Sam a venomous glare as she leaned against the kitchen counter. She then crossed her arms and ankles and as Rebecca spoke, her gaze slowly flickered from Sam to her.**

 **"** **Well, um, Zach came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing," tears sprang from Rebecca's eyes. "So, he called 911, and the police- they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way Zach could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police– they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zach coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but** ** _I swear_** **, he was** ** _here with me_** **, having a few beers until at least** ** _after midnight_** **," she concluded resolutely, her voice strong with conviction.**

"I still don't see it," Leo mumbled, nose scrunched in confusion. In afterthought, he turned to Rachel, "You getting any heebie-jeebies?"

The redhead tossed him a deadpanned look. "My _instincts_ -" she pointedly enunciated, "-tell me that something is definitely _not_ right."

Chris snorted, "Maybe he's got an evil twin, and they were separated at birth."

"Har, har," Percy sarcastically shot back before a large grin overtook his features. "Or, he's got a clone."

Joining in, Thalia smirked, "Or maybe he has the power to transport himself and managed to travel the distance in the blink of an eye without anyone being the wiser."

"'Tis no laughing matter," Athena scowled, not impressed with the demigods' levity.

It was not Athena's rebuke but Rachel's suggestion that succeeded in effectively silencing the room, her emerald gaze pointedly avoiding Hades' form, "What about demonic possession…?"

Hades suppressed a flinch. He no longer dwelled in denial however, in retrospect, perchance it truly _was_ wishful thinking on his part for the anomaly in regards to the existence of demons to simply blow over, never to be brought up again. He truly hoped that only _one demon_ existed, yet he knew such notions were absolutely ludicrous.

"Think about it," Rachel was blanketed by a boost of confidence. "Zach swears he didn't murder his girlfriend and Rebecca believes him-"

Will cut in, his expression apologetic, "That can't be it, Rach. Rebecca says Zach was _with her_ when his girlfriend was killed. If he was possessed by a demon, then he wouldn't have been with Rebecca to start with."

"So… we're back to my evil twin theory?" Chris piped up.

Artemis shook her head, frustrated at herself, "I can think of no particular monster that fits the criteria."

"That _we_ know of," Apollo gently reminded his twin. "Remember the Wendigo? I think it's safe to say that, if it _is_ a monster, it's not of Greek or Roman origin."

Persephone cleared her throat, "What if this is an illusion? Perhaps 'tis the work of a Trickster?"

"Loki?" Hermes' lips quirked upwards. He shook his head, "Nah, it's definitely not Loki's work."

The demigods stared at the gods in renewed interest, unable to conceal their vehement curiosity in regards to the Norse Pantheon. Zeus, noticing this, shot his son and daughter a particularly nasty glare, and boomed, "All of you, _quiet_."

 **Sharing a quick glance with Dean and Liv, Sam addressed Rebecca, "You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zach's house."**

 **"** **We could," Dean nodded.**

 **Rebecca frowned, "Why? I mean, what could you do?"**

 **With a disarming smile, Sam said, "Well, me, not much. But Dean's a cop."**

"Is he for real?" Rachel scoffed.

Katie shrugged, "It's not that hard to believe. You gotta admit, Rach, the Winchesters sure know how to play the part. In fact, if it wasn't for the magic of the internet, they wouldn't have gotten caught in that case in Jericho."

The Oracle grudgingly acquiesced.

 **Dean laughed, "Detective actually." That comment prompted Liv to disguise a derisive laugh with a cough. Rebecca didn't appear to be suspicious, instead inquiring for the location in which he worked. Throwing Liv a warning glare, Dean responded, "Bisbee, Arizona. But I'm off-duty now."**

As though somebody had switched off the lights, Aphrodite's entire disposition changed: her relaxed stance turned stiff, her fond smile grew brittle, and her twinkling eyes became flinty as a sudden thought occurred to her.

"Affie?"

Turning her head a fraction, kaleidoscopic eyes absorbed the concern radiating from her lover. Relaxing her hand, Aphrodite patted his forearm, "It's nothing, Love. Just an errant thought." At his encouraging look, she shook her head, "Later."

Nobody knew Ares like Aphrodite did. Not his twin sister, Enyo. Not siblings or his father. Not even his own mother, Hera, who took great pride in her title as Goddess of Family – not that she deserved it. …With her knowledge, Aphrodite was conversant with the inherent traits each child of Ares inherited, and therefore, other than Ares himself, she was an expert in dealing with his children. For that reason, Aphrodite instantly knew something was _gravely_ amiss with young Olivia Winchester. _However_ , Olivia and the unique life she led was uncharted territory and therefore, Aphrodite preferred to keep her suspicions to herself until she received further proof.

Eyeing Apollo from the corner of her eye, Aphrodite firmly decided a conversation with him was well overdue.

 **"** **You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just- I don't know," Rebecca hesitated, visibly torn.**

 **Liv slapped a hand on the counter and uncrossed her ankles, "Well, if you're sure-"**

"Isn't she supposed to _protect_ people," Hazel scowled, her opinion of Liv fluctuating.

Leo stared at Hazel, offended on Liv's behalf, " _Hey_ , Liv _does_ protect people!"

"She simply thinks this is a waste of time. _Time_ better spent killing monsters, saving lives, the whole shebang," Thalia argued passionately, feeling a deep-seated connection with Liv; they both suffered from short tempers and were proud trigger-happy teens when it came to monsters, and she didn't appreciate Hazel's demeaning comment.

Frank, noticing the few hostile glares aimed at his girlfriend, tightened his arm around her and glared back, willing them to look away.

 **Glaring at his cousin, Sam cut in, "Bec, look, I know Zach didn't do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent."**

 **Sighing, Rebecca nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna go get the keys," she said before disappearing down the hall. Once she was out of hearing range, Dean snorted, "Oh, yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends."**

 **"** **It's not enough that you forced us down to this godforsaken place,** ** _now_** **we have to practically beg for people to accept our help?" Liv hissed, stepping into Sam's personal space. Shaking her head, she spat, "I'm** ** _really_** **hating you right now, Sam."**

"Damn. That girl definitely suffers from one of the Seven Deadly's," Hermes whistled.

Travis cocked his head, confused orbs locked onto his father's solemn ones, "Seven Deadly's?"

Apollo laughed gaily. "Yeah… You know, the Seven Deadly Sins," he matter-of-factly revealed, stretching his legs.

"And our darling Olivia's got Pride _in spades_ ," Hermes elaborated.

Ares growled at his two mischievous half-brothers, "Ain't nothing wrong with being too proud."

"Au contraire. There's a reason why 'Pride' is counted as one of the Seven _Deadly_ Sins," Ariadne disputed. "If you ask me, I think it's actually the deadliest of them all."

Athena tilted her head at Ariadne's direction, "I quite agree."

"I confess myself surprised," Dionysus drawled, closing his magazine to better gauge Athena's expression with gleeful purple orbs. "After all, your pride is _infamous_ , Athena. Just ask Arachne," he smirked.

Both Athena and Annabeth paled at the taboo name.

"You dare," the wisdom goddess hissed, gripping the armrests tightly, her hands bone-white.

Dionysus shrugged, "Simply stating a universal fact."

Laughter broke out; Poseidon, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes and Apollo particularly pleased with the wine god.

 **Sam huffed at Liv in frustration, "Look, Zach and Becky** ** _need_** **our help?"**

 **Her fingers curled into a fist. "With** ** _what exactly_** **, Sam? This isn't our kind of gig. He needs a** ** _lawyer_** **, not a hunter!" Liv retorted. But Sam remained confident, "Two places at once? We've looked into less." When silence endured, Sam locked eyes with Liv, "If I'm wrong, you can tell me 'I told me so' for as long as you want."**

 **Dean looked defeated as a slow smirk curled onto Liv's lips, "You've got yourself a deal, Sammy-boy."**

"That was easy," Percy blinked in shock, having expected a larger row before Liv _grudgingly_ conceded.

Clarisse waved a hand, "It's a child of Ares thing. We _love_ being right."

Ares inhaled loudly as he rolled his eyes, not bothering to contradict his daughter. Every single being in the universe loved to be proven correct. In fact, nobody _liked_ being wrong.

Rachel however, unknowingly verbalized the war god's thoughts, "Everyone shares that trait, Clarisse. _I_ , for one, _love_ telling people ' _I told you so_ '."

"Whatever, Red," Clarisse grunted.

 **The screen faded before it alternated to the front of a house, the Winchesters and Rebecca sliding out of the car as they approached it. Turning to Dean, Rebecca asked, "You're sure this is okay?"**

 **"** **Yeah. I am an officer of the law," Dean cockily assured her just before they disappeared inside, Rebecca choosing to linger on the porch steps.**

"That hoax is definitely gonna be short-lived," Katie commented with an amused smirk.

The wine god rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes. We know, Carly."

"It's _Katie_ -" Katie huffed and shook her head, staring up the ceiling. "I don't know why I'm even bothering."

Dionysus smirked, his face disappearing behind his wine magazine. "They do learn quickly," he quipped.

 **The interior of Zach's house looked positively grim. Blood was smeared all over the walls and the furniture. From inside, Sam called out, "Bec, you wanna wait outside?"**

 **Inhaling deeply, Rebecca squared her shoulders and ducked under the police tape. "No, I wanna help," and she joined them inside. Tearfully, she answered Sam's inquiry regarding the police, "They said there's no sign of a break-in. They say Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers- they're already talking about** ** _plea bargain_** **." Blue-grey eyes scanned the bloody room. "Oh,** ** _God_** **…"** **she trailed off in horror.**

"Quite the gory scene, aye," Hermes lightly remarked.

Artemis glared at the screen, "Poor Emily."

 **"** **Look, Bec, if Zach didn't do this, it means** ** _someone else did_** **. Any idea who?" Sam gently prodded.**

 **Letting out a long exhale, Liv spoke up, "Any bit of information could be helpful. Even something small that you** ** _might think_** **is nothing…" Sam beamed at his cousin which went completely ignored by her.**

"Her constant mood swings are giving me whiplash," Annabeth huffed, leaning her back against Percy's chest.

Grover nodded frantically, "Tell me about it."

 **Suddenly, Rebecca gasped, "Um, there was something…about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes –** ** _Zach's clothes_** **. The police- they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed."**

Nico looked indecisive, "Petty theft? How's that any help?"

"You'd make a horrible hunter," Thalia teased her cousin. "Obviously Emily's murder was premeditated. The killer planned it, and he planned it well."

Leo shrugged, "I still don't see it."

And he wasn't the only one.

 **The Winchesters split up; Liv went down the hall after mumbling that she was going to check Zach's room, Sam continued to scour the bloody room and Dean opened the front door, staring closely at the neighbor's dog that was currently barking up a storm.**

 **"** **You know," Rebecca came up behind Dean, she too, gazing at the dog. "That used to be the sweetest dog."**

 **"** **What happened?" Dean asked, looking over at Rebecca. She shrugged, nonplussed, "He just…** ** _changed_** **."**

"That, right there, is our only living witness to Emily's death," Apollo pointed out.

Triton arched an eyebrow at his cousin, "You sound certain."

Apollo smirked, "That's 'cause I am. The dog's _clearly_ trying to communicate with them. _Unfortunately_ , humans don't speak canine."

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_! Hold on a sec," Percy gaped at Apollo in palpable awe. "You're telling me dogs actually have a language?"

The God of Knowledge chuckled good-naturedly at the son of Poseidon. "Of course they do. Every being and creature in existence has a way of communicating. Just 'cause we don't understand 'em, doesn't mean they aren't saying something."

"Would you look at that? I guess we do learn something new every day," Connor grinned, excited at the prospect of communicating with a dog – not that he could.

 **Suddenly suspicious, Dean inquired, "Do you remember when he changed?"**

 **"** **I guess around the time of the murder," Rebecca confessed before walking away, leaving Dean to stare at her retreating back in contemplation.**

"Bingo!" Apollo cheered, grinning smugly at the room in large. "What did I say? Didn't I tell you?"

Artemis smacked him, "Oh, do keep quiet, Apollo."

 **The scene alternated to the hallway, where Sam was admiring a framed picture of himself, Rebecca and a muscled man with dark hair, eyes and a goatee that was obviously Zach. Liv was just joining him when Dean approached. "So, the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zach's girlfriend was killed," he divulged.**

 **"** **Animals have a sharp sense of the paranormal," Sam stated.**

"They do?" Percy, Leo, the Stolls, Katie, Frank and Piper inquired, honestly surprised at the new piece of information.

Apollo hummed in affirmative, "The belief is attributed to the famed 'sixth sense' dogs have."

 **Liv rolled her eyes, "Tell me something I** ** _don't know_** **."**

"Not all of us are experts in the paranormal," Percy grumbled good-naturedly.

Annabeth lightly smacked him, "Seaweed Brain! You do know she's not talking to you, right?!"

"I'm not an idiot, Annabeth," he pouted in response.

Thalia offered him a shit-eating grin, and winked at Annabeth, "Jury's still out cold on that one."

Hestia's warm orbs gleamed as she started at the son of Poseidon, and the daughters of Zeus and Athena in fond admiration. "At least their children are able to put aside their differences and escape the ridiculous rivalry their parents are stubbornly set on continuing," she murmured to Demeter, who nodded in agreement, her expression mirroring her eldest sister's.

 **"** **That I'm right and you're wrong," Sam smirked, looking way to smug. "Just admit it, this is our kind of problem."**

 **Before Liv could assemble a retort, Dean shook his head, cutting in, "It's safe to say Fido** ** _did_** **see something, but that doesn't rule out a normal murder. We should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure."**

"If I were Dean, I'd lock those two up in a room and force them to make nice," Piper commented. "I don't know how long he's gonna be able to keep up the neutral front before he blows up on them."

Connor smirked, mischief coloring his face, "One thing for sure, it'd be awesome to watch."

Artemis glared accusingly at a proud Hermes, "He's definitely yours."

 **Rebecca made a beeline toward them and Dean addressed her, "So, the tape. The security footage…you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, 'cause I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction."**

"You don't have _any_ jurisdiction!" Rachel exclaimed indignantly.

Cocking his head to the side, Jason asked, "You think that's why S.W.A.T. came after him? 'Cause he pretended to be a cop?"

Leo rapidly shook his head, "Nah. That's too tame for S.W.A.T."

 **"** **I've already got it. I didn't wanna say something in front of the cop," she said, earning a laugh from Dean and a grudging, diminutive smile out of Liv. "I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."**

 **Dean grinned, "All right."**

 **They left the house and the screen abruptly alternated to a street. Zach sat on a bench across one house in particular, watching with unblinking dark eyes as an Asian man came out with a brunette woman.**

The color slowly began to drain from Rachel's face as she stared at the screen in horror.

"Heebie-jeebies?" Leo asked her.

Rachel glowered at him. "Leo, for the love of all that is holy, _shut up_."

"Rude," he pouted.

Piper shared Rachel's distress, "That can't be Zach! Zach's supposed to be in a holding cell!"

"But-, but he looks _exactly_ like Zach!" Percy gaped, sea-green eyes staring at the screen in wonder.

Chris appeared bemused, "Wait what? When I said he has an evil twin out there, I was _joking_."

 **The camera zoomed in on the couple. "I'll be home tomorrow night. I'll make it up to you," the man kissed her before he got into his car and drove off. Zach watched the woman retreat into the house, a wicked smirk materializing on his face. His eyes glinted silver-gold for a second before it returned to its normal black.**

"Definitely a case for the Winchesters," Triton announced, grimacing.

Artemis looked apoplectic with rage. "That…that filthy _SWINE_! He's targeting women, staking their houses until they're alone. Why, I ought to… a jackalope is too nice for him! He should be transformed into a bug and crushed under my feet," she ranted, inhaling and exhaling roughly.

"Don't worry, Artemis, he'll get his comeuppance soon. I assure you," Persephone calmed her irate sister. She was confident in the Winchesters' ability to rid the world of that ogre!

"That's all right and dandy, but we still don't know why he looks like that mortal's twin," Ares growled, his expression torn between indifference and curiosity.

Hecate pursed her lips. "Perhaps this being has magic and specializes in illusions…" she trailed off, uncertain.

"Yes, but you don't believe that," Hades arched a brow at her, his words more of a statement than an inquiry.

She shook her head forlornly. "Unfortunately, I do not," Hecate sighed.

"It shall be revealed in due time. Have patience, my dear," Poseidon soothed her, a handsome smile on his gorgeous face.

"Polyjuice Potion!" Rachel cheered.

Annabeth facepalmed, "No comment, you Harry Potter addict."

 **The scene alternated to the Winchesters, who were once again, congregated in the living room of Rebecca's house, watching the security footage. "Here he comes," Rebecca announced as the tape portrayed Zach entering his house. Then, the shot zoomed in on Dean, who's eyes were narrowed at the timestamp. "22:04," he stated, looking at Rebecca. "That's just after ten. You said time of death was about 10:30."**

There was a plethora of confused orbs directed onto the screen, and many frustrated ones from the gods who despised being out of the loop.

 **"** **Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape's authentic. It wasn't tampered with," Rebecca claimed. Sam's eyes widened at the video and in a would-be casual tone, said, "Hey, Bec, can we take those beers now?"**

"You _know_ it's serious if Sam didn't exclude Liv because she's underage," Connor whistled, scooting closer, on tenterhooks.

Katie shushed him, not detaching her eyes from the screen.

 **"** **Oh, sure," Rebecca smiled. Just as she got up, Sam asked for sandwiches as well. Rebecca laughed, teasing him before she left the room, "What do you think this is, Hooters?"**

 **"** **I wish," Dean sighed.**

Apollo grinned, "So do I."

"Pig!" Artemis hissed, smacking him. The sun god cheekily dodged her fist, smirking all the while.

Shaking her head fondly at the twins, Demeter said, "While I do enjoy your antics, dears, do you mind postponing it until _after_ we hear what Samuel has to say. I believe he discovered the nature of this being."

"Anything you say, Auntie Dem," Apollo winked.

"Cheeky brat," the goddess of agriculture fondly murmured under her breath.

 **Walking over to Sam, Dean urgently asked, "What is it?"**

 **In response, Sam rewinded the tape, replaying it. "Check this out," he pointed at the image of Zach, who was staring directly into the camera and Sam paused it once his dark orbs turned an eerie silver-gold.**

 **Liv squinted and tilted her head to the side, "Camera flare?"**

"If we didn't see the Zach-a-like do it under the sunlight, then I'd definitely be thinking along the same lines as Liv," Rachel remarked.

Staring at the Oracle in amusement, Nico uttered, "Zach-a-like?"

The redhead grinned, bobbing her head, "It has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?"

The demigods' laughter blanketed the room, adding light to the room and eliciting smiles out of a few gods.

"I believe the correct term you are looking for my dear, is Doppelgänger," Amphitrite smiled softly.

"Ah, but Zach-a-like's more fun to say," Apollo laughed, winking at the flushed redhead, who smiled back at him sheepishly.

Hera aggressively gritted her teeth though she miraculously maintained her silence.

 **Sam disagreed, "That's not like any camera flare I've ever seen. You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul… and remember that dog that was freakin' out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zach's-**

The Stolls stared pointedly at Chris, who gave them a half-shrug in bemusement.

 **-something that looks like him but** ** _isn't_** **him."**

 **"** **Like a Doppelgänger," Dean filled in the blanks.**

"Aren't Doppelgängers a supernatural occurrence?" Annabeth questioned.

Athena was only too quick to provide her daughter with an answer, "In some myths, it is. According to one legend, Doppelgängers are paranormal duplicates of a real person, and in German, the word means double-walker."

"Funnily enough," Apollo smirked over at Chris. "You're facetious remark actually has some merit. Doppelgängers can come to mean a double or look-alike of a person, most commonly it is used in reference to a so-called evil twin."

Chris scratched the back of his neck, slightly amused.

Athena glowered at Apollo for stealing her thunder. _She_ is the goddess of wisdom, _not_ Apollo.

 **"** **Yeah. It'd sure explain how he was two places at once," Sam murmured.**

 **Liv's eyes flickered between Dean and Sam, "That isn't exactly uplifting, you two. Aren't Doppelgängers harbingers of death? One tradition says that if a person gets a look at their own Doppelgänger, it's an omen of death…"**

"We don't know for sure if Zach got a good look at his lookalike, though," Percy pointed out, his expression torn between belief and _utter_ disbelief.

Jason rolled his eyes, "This might sound stupid due to the world we live in, but one thing I _don't_ believe in, is Doppelgängers."

"Uh, hello… do demons ring any bells for you?" Nico scoffed, a bitter note in his tone. "There's a lot of things I didn't believe in, _like_ ghosts roaming around without a summoner, Hell and demons, but boy I got proved wrong. Don't write anything off just yet, Jase. I've a feeling the surprises aren't over yet."

Distraught, Hades sighed and massaged his temples.

"I'm with Death Breath," Thalia agreed.

Nico glowered at her, "Would it _kill you_ to use my name for once."

"Yes," she smirked.

Zeus still found the sight of the camaraderie between his daughter and Hades' spawn extremely odd.

 **The screen then cut to the house that Zach's lookalike had been watching, portraying the Asian man opening the front door and stepping into the house.**

"You don't think he's another clone, do you?" Grover asked in worriment.

Percy's features were scrunched in confusion. "Dunno, G-Man. He's not supposed to be back 'til the next day. Unless a full day has passed already," he added in afterthought.

 **"** **Honey, it's me," he called out, closing the door behind him. "Flight cancelled at the last minute," he set down his briefcase and tossed his keys onto a nearby table, looking around the house. "I called. Why didn't you answer?" There was no response, the house eerily silent.**

Before Rachel could even open her mouth, Leo nervously cut in, "Don't say it. We _all_ have a bad feeling."

"It's safe to say he's the real deal," Apollo sighed sadly, already certain of the poor woman's fate and he inwardly grimaced, anticipating Artemis' blowout.

 **"** **Lindsay? Lindsay?" Turning around, his eyes widened on the blood spatters decorating the walls. "** ** _Lindsay_** **?!" he cried out, opening the nearest door to find her tied to a chair, bloodied and bruised, her mouth gagged. He rushed over to her side and removed the gag, softly cradling her face in his hands, "It's ok, Lindsay it's me."**

Artemis' face burned red with explosive rage, her eyes flaring with hate. Her fists were clenched and bone-white and if it weren't for Apollo's calming hand on her shoulder, she would've jumped out of her seat and probably teleport away to slaughter a horde of monsters as an outlet.

" _Di immortales_!" Aphrodite, Amphitrite, Persephone and Ariadne whimpered, expressions sad and eyes burning with rage.

 **Lindsay flinched, staring at him with fearful eyes. "Please, don't hurt me anymore!** ** _Leave me alone_** **!" she cried, prompting him to look at her, confused.**

"Another Doppelgänger?" Triton arched an eyebrow; the woman's fear was a huge indication of her attacker's identity.

Piper let out a breath of relief, "At least she's still alive."

"Yeah. But for how long," Clarisse growled, glaring daggers at the screen. "It's obvious he interrupted that sick freak's torture session!" she snarled, furious on behalf of the woman. Chris wound an arm around his distressed girlfriend, offering her the comfort she desperately needed, yet was too proud to ask for.

 **He opened his mouth to speak, when a noise echoed from the other room and he cautiously followed the sound.**

"No! _Don't_!" Rachel shrieked, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

"At least grab some makeshift weapon!" Percy snapped.

 **Stepping into the living room, he looked around. Suddenly, he turned around, and his eyes widened in alarm upon seeing his Doppelgänger standing before him, a baseball bat in hand. The man blinked in confusion.**

 **It all happened fast; the Doppelgänger's eyes flashed silver-gold right before he slammed the baseball bat against the man's head and the screen went black.**

" _Christ Almighty_ ," Katie breathed out, hazel-brown orbs dilated in alarm.

Grover looked glum. "They're dead, right?" and while it was posed as a question, it sounded more like a statement.

However, Ares studied the situation in a strategic perspective. "There's a possibility the Doppelgänger'll keep him alive and finish off the woman." Upon taking note of the surprise coloring three-quarter of the room's features, he rolled his eyes and elaborated as though they were purposely acting dense, "From the look of things, the copycat's modus operandi favors killing the male's loved ones while wearing their face, and thus, they end up taking the fall, leaving him to escape unmonitored." Met with dumfounded and a few impressed faces, the war god grunted, "It's called _strategy_ , punks. It's important to _always_ know how your opponent thinks, easier to take 'em out in a fight."

It was _this_ _exact_ _moment_ that prompted Percy to start doubting his past – or is it future? – interactions with the God of War. Whenever Ares lost in battle, the blame lied in his impetuous trait, but when Percy first met the war god, he was being controlled and manipulated by Kronos, and it wasn't a farfetched notion that the Crooked One had taken control of his limbs. _Was it possible_? Was Ares possessed by the Titan, body _and_ mind? And afterwards, Percy's opinion in regards to the war god was _wholly_ based on his first confrontation with him. In the diner, it was possible that it wasn't _Ares_ taunting him, but _Kronos_ whispering in the war god's ear, manipulating him into making an enemy out of the son of Poseidon.

Percy wasn't sure what to think anymore. Did he meet Ares, or did he meet Kronos?

Frank's voice snapped Percy out of his deep contemplations, as he addressed the Greek aspect of his father. "Does that mean there's a group of Doppelgängers that pick their victims based on who they look like?" he inquired, confused.

Ares shrugged a shoulder, considering his son with impassive eyes. "It could be. But if you ask me, I think it's an unlikely scenario; too unrealistic. Nah, I think this being has magic on their side, probably proficient in creating illusions."

Will appeared dubious, "But if that _being_ possesses magic, why take the guy out with a baseball bat? Why not knock him out with magic or something?"

"That's a good point," Ariadne inclined her head at Will's direction.

Hecate frowned, contemplative as she assessed this _being_.

 **The screen opened at the exterior of Zach's house, the Impala parking behind the house before the Winchesters slid out.**

"Oh, Olivia looks just _darling_. Her outfit is adorable!" Aphrodite suddenly squealed. Her orbs approvingly raked Olivia's form, taking in her acid-wash, high-waist denim shorts, her black spaghetti-strap cropped tank top, and her open-buttoned, red-and-black checkered flannel that cascaded to her thighs, the sleeves rolled up to show her golden forearms. "If only she would pair it with stylish stilettos or boots instead of those tacky Converse," she sighed, wrinkling her nose.

Thalia rolled her eyes, "She can't chase monsters or psycho-killers in heels."

' _She should cover up those accursed legs_ ,' Ares mentally growled, not liking the fact that the runt had perfect legs – golden, athletic, long, toned. He loathed to admit, but…as a man, as a _god_ , Ares knew that she possessed the kind of legs that would make an appearance in many concupiscent fantasies, the kind of legs that would make a man _crumble_ before his very knees – and the mere thought of _anyone_ admiring her legs or even her statuesque physique, made his blood boil. Then, the thought of him _caring_ made him sick to his stomach, only fuelling his hatred for the thrice-cursed runt.

The warring thoughts barely crossed his mind, when an appreciative whistle emanated from Hephaestus' blasted son's lips, the irritating noise quickly followed by a compliment. " _Damn_! Chica's leggy! Look at those legs of hers!" he was practically drooling in his seat.

In unison, Thalia and Annabeth reached forward and smacked the Latino across the head.

" _Ouch_!"

 **"** **Alright, so what are we doin' here at** ** _5:30_** **in the morning?" Dean groused.**

Connor gaped at the screen, "One guess who forced them out of bed at that _ungodly_ hour."

"Brutal," Travis winced, shaking his head.

 **Sam glanced at Dean and an unamused Liv, "I realized something. The videotape shows the killer goin' in, but not comin' out."**

 **Crawling atop the Impala, Liv, ignoring Dean's half-hearted stink-eye, sat on the hood in a lotus position and after a particularly long yawn, said, "The nutjob probably used the back door." Dean nodded in agreement as he leaned against the hood of the car.**

 **"** **Right. So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue," Sam was positively vibrating with energy at the discovery. Liv groaned into the palm of her hands, "** ** _Saaam_** **, I'm not in the right state of mind to play tag with a psycho. Maybe after a couple more hours of sleep…"**

Thalia chuckled, "Sometimes, I wonder what it's like inside her head."

"Tag with a psycho?" Connor chortled. " _Priceless_!"

 **Chuckling, Dean playfully ruffled Liv's hair, which produced another groan out of her, before he addressed his brother, "'Cause they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zach inside." He then shook his head, "I still don't know what we're doin' here at** ** _5:30_** **in the morning."**

 **Liv nodded frantically, jabbing her thumb at Dean. "What he said. And would you stop messing up my hair. I already look like a walking nightmare," she whined, slapping his hand away. Rolling his eyes at their antics, Sam scanned his surroundings, his eyes narrowing in on a bloodstain on a nearby telephone pole.**

"There we go. Now we're getting somewhere," Apollo jovially announced.

Hermes groaned, "I know. The waiting is the _worst_ part."

"Having patience would do you two a lot of good," Demeter lightly chastised her nephews.

Apollo smirked, "We have plenty of patience, Aunt Dem."

"We just prefer to not utilize it," Hermes continued, the cheeky smile on his face threatening to split his face in half.

"Oh, _you_ ," Demeter let out a fond laugh.

 **Sam announced his discovery, "Blood. Somebody came this way."**

 **Taking Liv by the arm arm, Dean pulled her off the hood and alongside him, joining Sam by the telephone pole. "Yeah, but the trail ends. I don't see anything over here," Dean commented. At that moment, an ambulance sped past them, prompting the trio to exchange knowing looks. Sighing, Liv pushed her hair out of her face and after tapping Dean on the arm, ran back to the Impala, "Tag, you're it."**

"What if pursuing that ambulance ended up being just a dead end," Rachel arched an eyebrow.

Jason stared at the redhead oddly, "It's obvious the ambulance will lead them to the house of that… _being_ 's last victims."

"Yeah. _We_ know that," Rachel enunciated, looking slightly annoyed. "The Winchesters, on the other hand, _do not_. They put so much faith in a random ambulance that whizzed by when it could have easily been a wild-goose chase."

Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, the Stolls, Clarisse and Chris groaned at the Oracle.

Rachel scowled at them, " _What_?"

"Wow," Hazel shook her head, Frank and Jason sharing her exact sentiments as they, unlike the Greeks, didn't have as much experience with the eccentric redhead.

Annabeth huffed, "Why must you psychoanalyze every single detail?"

Dionysus smirked, "I see I am not the only one to find your comments irksome, Raquel."

Before Rachel could retort, Zeus bellowed for silence.

Thankfully, before the tension could escalate, the screen resumed.

 **The scene once again opened on the house of the last two victims, Dean, Sam and Liv observing the Asian man getting handcuffed and led into the back of a police car.**

The demigods turned to look at Ares in admiration and wonder due to his accurate prediction. For his part, the war god simply grunted, the roll of his eyes veiled by his shades.

 **Dean addressed a nearby woman, "What happened?"**

 **"** **He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her," the woman revealed, disturbed.**

Artemis frowned at the scenario, "I pity that poor mortal, despite his gender."

"Wait, _tried to_? Does that mean his wife's still alive?" Piper asked.

 **"** **I used to see him going to work in the morning," she continued, lips pursed. "He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy."**

Leo shook his head, "His reputation's shot to hell. There's no way he'll be released, especially if his wife managed to survive."

 **The scene forwarded; Sam stood by the side of the house, looking around while Liv analyzed the content of two garbage cans. Looking over her shoulder and seeing Dean approach Sam, she abandoned her investigation and joined her cousins.**

 **"** **So… remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem," Dean sheepishly stated. At Sam's affirmative, he sighed, "** ** _Definitely_** **our kind of problem."**

"Of course it is," Rachel grumbled to herself, still peeved with her friends.

Will shrugged, "In Dean and Liv's defense, it didn't look like much. If Sam didn't know Zach, he wouldn't have touched the case either."

"We'll never know for sure," Apollo smiled at his son.

 **Liv frowned at Dean and folded her arms. Sam's expression morphed to interest, "What'd you find out?"**

 **"** **Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story. Apparently the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked," Dean shrugged in confusion, dragging a hand through his hair.**

"If Forensics execute their job properly, then that poor man should be released and his name vindicated," Aphrodite huffed, incensed on behalf of the mortal man, Alex. This _monstrous being_ was literally killing love, destroying it at its root by eradicating the precious trust shared between man and woman. Her hands itched to torment that monster for hours on end before smiting it where it stood.

Athena hummed in agreement, "Yes. If they followed the mortal's trail, they would learn he was in the airport when his wife was attacked."

"Even assessing the car would be proof enough," Apollo casually added. "The engine must still be hot, supporting his claims that he arrived _after_ Lindsay got attacked."

Dionysus snorted. " _Mortals_ ," he said, as though that simple word explained _everything_.

 **Sam nodded, "So he** ** _was_** **two places at once."**

 **"** **Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house, police thinks he's a nutjob," Dean explained.**

Hecate's lips were pursed into a thin, disapproving line. "This makes me wonder… exactly how _many_ mortals are punished for acts executed by monsters? This doesn't seem fair."

Persephone nodded in agreement with her closest confidante, "I quite agree. A system should be formed, one that offers aid to mortals whose lives were disrupted by supernatural activity."

"What an excellent idea. Something to ponder about later on," Poseidon grinned at his niece, impressed and proud at her benevolence – a trait she did _not_ inherit from her cantankerous father.

 **"** **Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in** ** _exactly_** **the same way," Sam summarized, his chocolate orbs seeking Liv out. Hugging herself tightly, Liv rolled her eyes, "Just** ** _say it_** **."**

 **Adopting a look of innocence, Sam played dumb, "Say what?"**

 **"** **You know exactly what. Just say it and put me out of my misery," she retorted with a huff.**

A plethora of smiles broke out in the room as they observed the amusing interaction between the two cousins that were usually at each other's throats.

"Her pride must be taking a huge hit right about now. I feel for her," Nico grinned, admiring Liv.

For some ridiculous reason, Will felt a stab of envy and he narrowed his eyes at the demigod onscreen. He had no reason to feel jealous, not only was Olivia Winchester far away, but Nico wasn't even attracted to her that way… _right_?

 **Sam shook his head, a mirthful grin on his face, "I don't know what you're talking about."**

 **"** **Alright you chumps, knock it off," Dean smiled fondly, putting himself between them. "So, what do we have here?"**

Nearly every occupant in the Throne Room leaned forward, curious to place an identity to the mindboggling being.

"If they say demon, I'll have a stroke," Hades muttered to his wife, prompting Persephone to flash him a soft, commiserating smile and interlace her hand in his.

 **Throwing a half-hearted glare at Sam, Liv turned to meet Dean's gaze and shrugged, "Shapeshifter, maybe? It'd explain the sudden rush of Doppelgängers swarming this damn place."**

The moment Liv uttered 'Shapeshifter', Frank's entire form stiffened and his eyes widened in horror. He slowly unwound his arm from around Hazel's waist and his head shook left and right, unable to make sense of the revelation. While a part of Liv's conjecture made sense, some part in Frank couldn't comprehend. ' _It can't be! It just can't!_ '

"Frank?" Hazel softly crooned, hesitantly lifting a hand to touch his shoulder before retreating in afterthought. The remaining Seven shifted their worried gaze onto the Canadian, at a loss for words.

Calculative flaming sockets pierced Frank, almost as though they were looking right through him and into his very soul.

 **Dean looked contemplative, "Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore. You know, legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."**

"Can all of you _STOP_ staring at me!" Frank barked, the action abrupt and unexpected, which elicited Hazel, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo and Nico to jump in alarm and hastily look away from him.

For the immortals' part, only Ares, Poseidon, Hera, Amphitrite, Aphrodite and Triton knew the reason behind Frank's anger, while the remaining gods appeared confused at the normally soft-spoken and mild-mannered demigod's sudden outburst.

 **"** **Right, skinwalkers, werewolves," Sam listed off.**

"Skinwalkers? I think Sam's mentioned them before…" Piper trailed off, looking around the room. "What do you think skinwalkers are?" she inquired, grabbing the change of topic from shapeshifters with both hands, something Frank deeply appreciated but didn't bother voicing.

Clearing her throat, Hecate postulated out loud, "Since they are discussing creatures with the ability to transform into something else, I believe it's safe to assume skinwalkers have the ability to change their form. Like lycanthropes happen to be humans that turn into wolves once a month, skinwalkers must be a similar creature…"

Frank swallowed the lump lodged in his throat… ' _Am I a creature… a monster?_ ' He shifted himself into a lotus position in an attempt to mask his shivers. Hazel wasn't so easily fooled, but she decided to give him the space he wordlessly asked for; she just hoped her boyfriend would let her in once he recovered from his shock.

 **Dean scratched the side of his head before he crossed his arms, "We've got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessin' Liv's right and we've got a shapeshifter prowlin' the neighborhood."**

 **"** **Let me ask you this," a deep frown materialized on Sam's face. "In all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?"**

 **"** **Not that I know of," Dean promptly replied. Simultaneously, Liv shrugged, "Probably. Why?"**

An irritated growl rumbled in Zeus' throat. "And they believe themselves to be experts?" he scoffed, his voice laced with scorn. "Flight is possible, depending on the form one with the ability takes."

Frank shifted uncomfortably as he recalled the many forms he took in order to be granted the ability to fly – eagle, dragon and crow instantly coming to mind, among others.

"Zeus," Poseidon sighed, rubbing his forehead as he sent a quick glance to the disturbed legacy of his. "Perhaps this shapeshifting entity differs from us."

Zeus growled at his brother, affront coloring his handsome features, "Naturally, brother. We are _gods_!" he arrogantly exclaimed.

 **"** **I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way," Sam pointed at the general direction. Recognition passed through Dean's eyes, "Just like your friend's house."**

 **Sam nodded, "Yeah. And just like at Zach's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just** ** _disappeared_** **."**

Apollo's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. "Oh no. Liv isn't going to be happy," he smirked.

"What do you know?" Artemis huffed, having grown accustomed to her brother's ability to ' _know things_ ' before anybody else, much to Athena's unadulterated frustration.

Pointing at the screen, Apollo said, "Why, it's simple sister dearest. Use your eyes."

Following the direction of his nephew's finger, Hades rolled his eyes, "The manhole. Of course."

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust, "I can now comprehend Olivia's pragmatic approach in wearing those _tasteless_ shoes."

Annabeth frowned, ' _I love Converse..._ '

"She'd probably end up with twisted ankles. Descending that manhole in heels would've been plain torture," Piper remarked.

 **Looking down, Dean studied the manhole, "Well, there's another way to go…** ** _down_** **."**

 **Sam and Liv mimicked Dean and upon noticing the manhole, Liv groaned, "Can this day get any worse?"**

"She just jinxed herself," Percy matter-of-factly announced.

Athena glowered at the sea spawn, "Don't be ridiculous!"

 **The camera morphed to show a sewer; Dean and Sam waited for Liv to descend the ladder and join them, before the trio studied their surroundings.**

"How repulsive," Aphrodite commented in disgust.

Artemis snapped at the love goddess, "One can't be picky when chasing down monsters, Aphrodite."

 **"** **I bet this runs right by Zach's house, too," Sam deduced. "The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around."**

"Which I hate to admit, but this monster is very smart," Hermes impassively declared.

Once again, Frank winced. ' _Am I a monster?_ ' the agonizing inquiry reverberating in his head.

 **"** **I think you're right. Look at this," Dean kneeled down to examine a pool of blood and a pile of some elastic-looking material. The Winchesters sported identical expressions of disgust.**

Rachel cocked her head to the side, "What-, what is _that_?"

Silence reigned in the room as every occupant attempted to make sense of whatever lay beside the puddle of blood.

"Oh, _Tartarus_!" Will exclaimed, his bronze complexion turning pale and he clapped a hand to his mouth.

Bright blue eyes slammed shut. "Styx!" Apollo breathed out. "That's flesh. It's a, that right there, it's a heap of ripped flesh! _Skin_ ," he stressed in disgust.

Katie blinked in horror before– ' _Yup, that would do it…_ ' and she proceeded to throw up her insides onto the floor. Rachel followed three seconds later.

Abandoning his throne, Apollo approached the two girls and placed his palm on their foreheads. A mesmerizing golden light encompassed both girls as a result of his healing touch and in the blink of an eye, a healthy color filled Katie and Rachel's cheeks.

The daughter of Demeter sheepishly ducked her head, and gratefully allowed Travis to engulf her in his warm embrace, "I'm sorry. I guess I've a weak stomach."

Demeter waved away her concerns, "Pish-posh, darling. You have nothing to apologize for. Frankly, if I wasn't so concerned about you, I would have beaten you to it." Her mother sent a wink and a comforting smile, assuaging her embarrassment.

With a simple flick of Hestia's wrist, the mess left behind by the demigod and the Oracle, vanished, leaving behind spotless tiles.

Looking around, Apollo kindly asked, "Anyone else feel like they're about to experience a sudden surge of emesis?" His gaze locked onto a particularly green-faced Hazel and Piper, who had sheens of perspiration accumulating on her forehead. Approaching the daughter of Aphrodite, he softly crooned, "Here, allow me."

"Thanks," Piper sighed, accepting the handkerchief from her mother and dragging it across her forehead. She then smiled at the God of Medicine, "Thank you. Nausea can be such a bitch."

Apollo burst into laughter and winked at her as he quickly healed Hazel before returning to his throne.

" _Language_!" Aphrodite clucked her tongue.

Frowning at her boyfriend, Hazel admitted to herself that his behavior was beginning to elicit her concern. The fact that she felt sick and Frank was too lost in his morbid thoughts that he didn't even realize, or bother to comfort her, prompted her worry to escalate and she traded concerned glances with Percy and Leo, both of whom shared her exact sentiment.

"Please don't tell me those're the blood and flesh of its victims," Rachel moaned, abandoning the sort-of childish grudge she held with her friends as she desperately sought solace in Connor's comforting embrace.

Amphitrite looked positively green, "I hope not."

 **Liv scrunched her nose as she took out her butterfly knife, using the blade to hold up some skin to her eye-level. "Is this from his victims?" Sam inquired, shifting closer to Liv to examine it.**

"Inquiring minds think alike," Connor teased the Oracle, succeeding in bringing out a diminutive smile from her.

 **Shaking his head in disgust, Dean stared intently from Sam to Liv, "You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape… maybe it** ** _sheds_** **."**

 **"** **That is sick," Sam groaned. Liv dug into her Aztec patterned hippie shoulder bag and pulled out a wad of tissue to frantically clean her blade, "** ** _Gross_** **!"**

Frank gulped, "Sheds?" He then furtively began to pinch his skin, almost like he half expected it to peel right off and uncover his flesh and bone.

"Frank…" Hazel repeated her previous actions.

Hurt colored her features when Frank flinched away from her touch and created more space between them, and for a second, regret flashed across his face but he stubbornly looked away as self-hatred coursed through his veins.

Percy, Leo, Jason, Annabeth and Piper exchanged looks, and they realized that Frank needed a stern talking to before things blew up into epic proportions.

 **The camera shifted to the Impala, where Dean rooted through the trunk and began withdrawing weapons. "Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one way to kill it," Dean said.**

 **In unison, Sam and Liv intoned, "Silver bullet to the heart."**

It was too much for Frank to handle. He felt suffocated and dirty.

 _He was a monster..._

Nobody saw it coming – Frank jumped onto his feet and he frantically darted out of the Throne Room, allowing his muscle memory to lead him to the Guest Chamber and he slammed the door behind him with a resounding bang.

Pacing the communal room, Frank buried his hands in his dark hair and they balled into fists, clumping the hair and hysterically attempting to rip them out in his frantic state. Grandmother incessantly assured he was _special_ , that he was meant for great things… that, not only was he blessed as a son of Mars, but a descendant of Poseidon. He had both, Greek and Roman roots, he was a demigod and a legacy – he was _special_ …

… _or was he?_

No. Frank Zhang wasn't special. He wasn't even a Hero. He was considered a _monster_. He was _nothing_ … nothing but a unique brand of evil that needed to be put down… that _should be_ exterminated before his monstrous nature emerged and started murdering innocent people, _harmless people_ that didn't deserve the wrath that had befallen them.

"Huh, I guess that's what people meant by out of body experiences," Frank let out a humorless chuckle, and he could almost _feel_ the addicting hands of insanity grip him tight, unwilling to let go.

Slowly, almost cautiously, he looked over his shoulder to the door, feeling jittery. Breathing a sigh of relief at the discovery that he was by his lonesome, he released his hair from its painful grip, lowered his trembling hands and opened them, palm side facing upwards as he examined them intently – he took note that they still _looked_ the same, exactly like they did an hour ago. Frank expected his skin to shed at any moment, physical proof that he _was_ a monster.

"Frank…?"

The sweet, honeyed voice that never failed to embrace him in its addicting warmth pervaded the air, prompting Frank to twist around and meet a pair of gorgeous, almond-shaped, gold eyes with terrified, wide orbs. He barely processed Hazel's appearance and that she stood _right there_ , within arm's reach, when she took a step forward and Frank instantly reacted.

Recoiling, he practically flew to the other side of the room, plastering his back against the wall and huddling into himself. He slid onto the ground and hugged his knees, burying his face in them. White noise infiltrated his eardrums and he felt phantom hands cradle his throat and _squeeze_. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't hear… he needed Hazel to _leave_ him be, he couldn't bear tainting her with his repulsive nature…

A Shapeshifter: that's what he was. Not a demigod. Not a legacy. _A monster_!

He lost track of time. He didn't know how long he remained there, huddled into himself like the pathetic wretch of a monster he inherently was, when the image of Hazel appeared in the back of his lids, her warm gold eyes filled with life and happiness gazed back at him, unseeing and blank, her dark complexion littered with bruises and coated with _so much blood_ , and her body twisted at an unnatural angle. He slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes to inspect his hands, expecting them to be soaked with blood–

A startled sob escaped him when both his shoulders were encased in a strong, calloused grip, anchoring him to the present. He blinked the moisture from his eyes and felt tear-tracks cascade down his face like rivulets. Blinking again, his surroundings no longer had blurry edges and he found himself staring in unmitigated shock at his anchor, flaming sockets intensely meeting his red-rimmed eyes with an emotion akin to concern, a sentiment he never before now, believed the infamous heartless war god was capable of expressing to anyone other than his beloved Aphrodite.

"Frank," he sighed, flames sparking in his sockets as they absorbed his miserable state. Releasing his shoulders, Ares crossed his arms together and propped them on his knee as he remained in a crouching position before him. "Would you care to explain to me the reason for the state you're in?" while it was posed as a question, Frank recognized a demand when he heard one, and the God of War wouldn't be taking no for an answer.

Frank's face burned with shame and he lowered his gaze. While this was his father in his _Greek_ aspect, Ares nevertheless _is_ his father, and both Mars and Ares held the same ideals and he knew his father loathed weakness in his children, and here sat Frank, bawling his eyes out like a newborn babe, up to his eyeballs in shame and self-hatred.

"You look at me when I talk to you!" he growled.

Flinching, Frank forced himself to meet Ares' gaze, his eyes widening when regret flashed past the god's face. Exhaling loudly, Ares dragged a hand down his handsomely scarred face, "I apologize. I don't have any experience when it comes to coddling my mortal children."

Swallowing harshly, Frank nodded and after scanning the room, he softly asked, "Where-where's Hazel?"

Ares studied his son impassively, "I sent her away."

The second Frank bolted from the Throne Room, nearly half the demigods sprung to their feet, ready to give chase. Hades' resurrected daughter – a fact that still puzzled them all – talked the others out of following him, claiming that a big group would spook him even more and to give her a chance to calm him down and get some answers. Naturally, his beloved knew him best, and knowing that deep down, Ares was concerned, made an act of pushing him off his throne and forcing him to check on his son – an act that everyone but Apollo and Hestia instantly bought – bless the ignorant fools. When Hades' spawn failed to get through to Frank, Ares decided it was time to step in.

Continuing his impassive scrutiny, Ares waited. Oh, he knew _exactly_ what ailed his son, but he knew it was best for Frank to get everything off his chest – something about it being therapeutic or whatever mumbo jumbo he heard Apollo spout off mid-babble.

" _Well_?" he probed.

"I'm a monster," Frank tearfully admitted, blinking away more tears. "I'm a shapeshifter and I- I used to be _so_ _proud_ of my ability. I looked at it as a gift. But it's _not_ a gift, _is it_? It's part of my freaky genes. I'm a born monster. I'm surprised none of you have bothered to smite me yet! I-I…" his voice trailed into choked sobs and he pressed his closed fist against his mouth in order to muffle himself and spare whatever was left of his dignity.

While Frank spilled his guts out, Ares remained still and silent, penetrating him with impassive orbs, and to the untrained eye, the rapid flicker of concern that sparked in those flaming sockets, passed unseen. Once Frank trailed off, Ares gruffly stated, "You finished?" Recoiling at his harsh tone, Frank nodded and his son's fear of him was like a stab to the gut. "You aren't a monster, boy," he sighed, both his tone and expression softening. "That nifty ability of yours, shapeshifting? It is a gift, a gift bequeathed to you from your ancestor, from _Poseidon_. Just like your ancestor, Periclymenus, Poseidon's grandson. He too, could shapeshift. It is an inherent ability in the Zhang family, Frank. This _gift_ , it saved your grandmother's life, and Emily— your mother, she used her gift to do a lot of good. Now-" he shifted onto his other knee to make himself comfortable and scooted closer to his son, "-I don't know you like my future-self probably does, but I've a feeling we've met in the future, yes?"

Frank nodded, relaxing the more his father spoke and he hastened to wipe his tearstained face with the back of his hand.

"Right," Ares cleared his throat, and Frank found himself amazed at his father's ability to soothe him with a gruff tone. "Well, I don't know about your future accomplishments, but I'd bet my chariot that your ability to shapeshift saved your friends' lives many times, am I right?"

His lips tugged into a modest smile, "What makes you say that?"

"Because if you're anything like your mother, which I know you are, you'd use your gift the same way she used hers. Emily was a brave one. Unbeknownst to Emily, I watched from afar as she saved many American soldiers with her shapeshifting ability." Frank's eyes widened in awe and he greedily devoured this new piece of information regarding his mother as Grandmother made it a point to avoid the subject of Emily Zhang, leaving her a mystery to him. Ares nodded as though he were trying to convince Frank of the truth, "Now, tell me, Frank. Do you think your mother's a monster?"

Horrified, Frank rapidly shook his head, "No!"

"Then why think that of yourself?" he probed, a cynical eyebrow raised as he made his point. Rendered speechless, Frank shrugged. "Funny how easy it is for somebody to underestimate their worth yet praise others, hmm? Periclymenus, your grandmother, your mother, they're all good people, maybe in your opinion, heroes. Yet you demean yourself for sharing the same gift? That's a weakness most mortals share, which I absolutely loathe," Ares growled as he shook his head. Fixating his son with his intense gaze, he continued, "Your ancestors never _shed_ their skin. So get that ridiculous idea out of your head. That shapeshifter those hunters are dealing with, I don't know its origins, but what I do know, is that it's a bastardized version of _our_ ability. You've inherited the gift from us, _the gods_. You hear me? And you cannot shapeshift into other mortals, I'm afraid you're stuck with boring animals," he grinned, lightning the mood.

A relieved and slightly hysterical bubble of laughter emanated from Frank's lips and his eyes shone with gratitude, "Thank you."

Standing up, Ares waved a hand, "Don't mention it." Helping Frank up, he enunciated, "I'm serious. _Don't_. Wouldn't want people to believe I'm growing soft, now, would we?"

Frank laughed, "I won't. Promise."

"Alright, kid. You ready to face the music?"

In the Throne Room, the demigods, Grover and Rachel breathed sighs of relief upon seeing, to their greatest shock, a beaming Frank jauntily make his way over to them, a spring in his step. Sitting down next to Hazel, he embraced her and after placing a kiss on her forehead, he whispered, "I'm sorry for my behavior, Haze. I love you."

Smiling, relieved that she made the right decision to obey Ares instead of eavesdropping on them or waiting outside the room for Frank – not that she believed she'd be able to fool the intimidating war god to start with. "I love you too, Frankie," she giggled, pressing her lips against his cheek and interlacing her fingers with his.

Aphrodite leaned forward to passionately kiss her lover and, ignoring the myriad of questioning gazes burning a hole through his form, Ares placed an arm around her and kept his eyes locked onto the screen.

 **Dean grinned, "That's right." At that moment however, Sam's cellphone rang, and as he answered it, the camera alternated between him and Rebecca. "This is Sam?" he answered.**

 **"** **Where are you?" Rebecca demanded, sounding upset.** **Looking at his surroundings and ignoring Dean and Liv's arched eyebrows, Sam said, "We're near Zach's, we're just checkin' some things out."**

 **Rebecca shook her head, "Well, look, Sam, just** ** _stop_** **, 'cause I really don't need your help anymore."**

"Oh- _oh_ ," Rachel said in a singsong tone. "Methinks the gig's up."

Connor looked sad, "Busted!"

 **Confusion colored Sam's features, "What are you talkin' about?"**

 **"** **I told the lawyers that we went to the crime scene-"**

 **Sam scoffed, interrupting her, "** ** _Why_** **would you do that?"**

"Uh, why _wouldn't she_ do that," Rachel snapped in return, staring at the screen in wide-eyed disbelief. "Any _normal_ person would confide in their lawyer."

Thalia frowned at the redhead, "Seriously, Red? Who's side are you on?"

"Right now? Rebecca," Rachel spoke as though the answer was obvious. "Sam can't expect her to cover up for them or _lie_ to the team of lawyers hired to keep her brother safe and out of jail, without knowing the truth."

Annabeth stared at Rachel in incredulity, "They can't just spread out the truth, Rach, and you know it. They aren't exactly donating Halloween candy."

She shrugged, unwavering in her personal opinion regarding the entire situation.

"How about you argue on your _own_ time, girls. _We_ -" and here, Hera gestured towards herself and the other gods, "-are trying to watch!"

Thalia, Annabeth and Rachel glowered at the Queen of Olympus, but thankfully – especially in Thalia and Annabeth's case, both of whom hated the goddess with a passion – they obediently kept their mouths shut.

 **"** **Well, I told them that we were with a police officer. And they checked it out, and they told me that there is** ** _no_** **Detective Dean Winchester," Rebecca spat out. She didn't even let Sam speak, quickly cutting in. "No, I don't understand why you would** ** _lie to me_** **about something like that," she snapped, hurt at his deception.**

 **Sighing, Sam gently said, "We're tryin' to help."**

 **"** **Oh, trying to help?" she scoffed. "Do you** ** _realize_** **that that was a** ** _sealed_** **crime scene? This could have** ** _ruined_** **Zach's case."**

Leo rolled his eyes, "Okay. Now she's just being dramatic. They were just trying to help. In fact, they're the only ones that _can_ help."

"Depends on how you look at it," Apollo put in, his tone oddly cheerful. "The Winchesters can help out in the supernatural dilemma by stopping that monster from harming anybody else. What they can't do, however, is clear Zach's name and get him out of his future prison cell. _That's_ the lawyers' job which is why Rebecca can't afford to lie to them."

Artemis curtly inclined her head, "Excellently worded, brother."

"Eh, I have my moments," he retorted with a wink.

 **"** **Bec, I'm sorry, but–"**

 **Interrupting him yet again, Rebecca tersely said before hanging up, "No, goodbye, Sam."**

 **Pocketing his cellphone, Sam shut his eyes in disappointment and raised his head to the sky as Dean and Liv joined him. Dean patted his back, "I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talkin' about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked. It's just- it'd be easier if–"**

 **"** **If I was like the both of you?" Sam sneered.**

" _Ouch_ ," Connor winced.

Travis frowned at the screen, "Now that was totally harsh and _uncalled for_."

"He's just mad and running his mouth. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," Clarisse defended him.

A wicked glint entered Connor's eyes and he grinned at his half-brother. "Would you look at that, Chris. Clarisse is Sam's knight in shining armor— _Ouch_! What was _that_ for!?" he whined, rubbing his abused arm and glaring at Chris.

Chris raised an eyebrow, " _Seriously_?"

"Moron," Clarisse huffed in amusement.

Travis shared Chris and Clarisse's sentiments. "Bro, you had it coming," he told Connor.

 **"** **Hey, man," Dean raised both hands defensively, not the least bit insulted. "Like it or not, we are not like other people. But I'll tell you one thing. This whole gig, it ain't without perks." Smirking, he held up a gun, which Sam took, placing it in the back of his jeans. With a sigh, Sam studied Liv, who stayed oddly quiet. "Do you ever miss it? Having friends?" Sam softly asked her.**

 **Pausing in loading her gun, Liv locked eyes with Sam and sighed. "I didn't have** ** _friends_** **, Sam. I had** ** _Keane_** **. He left me. So, to answer your question,** ** _no_** **, I don't miss him," she matter-of-factly stated, inserting the last bullet and pocketing the gun. "I try not to dwell too much on the past, Sam. We already have enough ghosts in our lives, we don't need any more." Patting his shoulder, Liv joined Dean, Sam following after them at a slower pace before the camera returned to the interior of the sewer.**

"Wise words," Hermes remarked.

Persephone, however, looked sad, "Her words are coated in bitterness and pain."

"At least she's trying to follow her own advice," Katie pointed out with a shrug. "Keyword, _trying_."

It was clear as day that the past was holding Olivia Winchester back, an extra weight on her shoulder that she didn't need.

Connor groaned loudly, "I _really_ wanna know what happened between her and this Keane guy!"

"You and me both," Percy agreed.

Aphrodite, at this current moment, was more concerned with their return to the sewers.

 **The Winchesters cautiously made their way through, each of them armed with flashlights and guns as they looked around. Dean suddenly stopped, "I think we're close to its lair."**

 **"** **Why do you say that?" Sam asked, his gaze traveling from Dean to Liv, who had her nose scrunched in disgust. In response, the eldest Winchester jutted his chin and pointed at something near Sam, "Because there's another puke-inducing pile next to your face."**

 **Turning his head, revulsion was the main emotion on Sam's face, "Oh,** ** _God_** **!"**

A rather green-faced Rachel soothingly rubbed her stomach in perfect circles. "Great. More flesh and blood. _Yippee_ ," she drawled sarcastically.

"Don't forget the pile of clothes sunbathing nearby," Leo remarked, his tone equally sarcastic, if not more.

 **"** **Looks like it's lived here for a while," Dean stated, distasteful eyes scanning the inhabited sewer.**

 **Liv emitted a sarcastic whistle of appreciation, "** ** _Wow_** **, I gotta get a name of it's realtor."**

The demigods, Grover and Rachel burst into laughter and even a few gods joined in.

Irritation colored Zeus's features, but a jovial Poseidon noted the abrupt quirk of his lips before it quelled into a pursed line of disapproval. Shaking his head, the Sea God's twinkling eyes locked onto Hades' dark orbs and smirked. Sometimes, Poseidon wondered _how_ he was related to those two stuffy brothers of his; Zeus and Hades put too much effort in repressing laughter than enjoying precious moments. In his opinion, the demigods' laughter was music to his ears.

"She never stops," Persephone giggled. "Always carrying a repertoire of snarky comments despite the severity of their situation."

"I just want her out of that filthy place," Aphrodite commented in distaste.

Ares sighed and patted his lover's hand while Artemis and Athena aggressively rolled their eyes.

 **Shaking his head at Liv, Sam spoke up, "Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with-** ** _oof_** **!" he stared questioningly at his cousin with slightly narrowed eyes, which quickly melted into concern upon seeing her worried orbs locked onto something behind Dean and, turning around, he yelled, "** ** _Dean_** **!"**

 **The shapeshifter, still in the form of the Alex, stood behind the eldest Winchester, and at Sam's yell, punched him.**

" _No_!" Rachel, Piper, Katie, Hazel and Annabeth shrieked, their hands either flying to press against their mouth or grabbing onto their respective boyfriend's hands in a crushing grip.

Ariadne's eyes widened, "Oh, dear!"

The wine god, with a long sigh, abandoned his magazine to watch the upcoming skirmish, stroking his wife's hand to alleviate her fears.

On the other hand, Ares straightened his posture, eyes gleaming at the action he sorely needed. "Ah, c'mon, _get up_. Fight back," he growled, disappointed in Dean.

 **Dean fell to the ground and Liv and Sam fired their guns at the shapeshifter's retreating back. "Get that son of a bitch!" Dean yelled as he got onto his feet and the three Winchesters immediately gave chase.**

" _Ah_! They missed!" Chris groaned.

Katie commiserated with Sam and Liv. "It's not exactly easy to open fire on a moving target," she defended. She then found herself on the receiving end of not only her mother, but the demigods, Grover and Rachel's inquiring stare. " _What_?"

"How'd you know that?" Annabeth curiously inquired.

Clarisse grunted her agreement, "Yeah! Guns aren't part of a demigod's ammo."

The daughter of Demeter shrugged, looking slightly sheepish, "My uh, my cousin, he took me to a shooting range a few times. And believe me, it's not as easy as it looks."

Travis stared at Katie as though he were looking at her in a new light. "That's, just, that's just _wow_. I am so turned on right now," he whispered the last part into Katie's ears, and his sudden husky tone coupled with the lust in his gorgeous eyes, prompted a profuse blush to spread on her face and she lightly smacked him on the arm.

Laughing, Travis wrapped both arms around her waist and brought her back flush against his chest. Propping his chin on the curve of her neck, his lips brushed against her ear as he continued to whisper, "After we're done here, you and me, we're going to a shooting range."

Giggling, a still red-faced Katie said, "I'll hold you to that."

"Ah, young love," Aphrodite beamed at the couple, a fond glint in her currently sapphire eyes.

Shaking his head in mock disgust, Connor said, "Alright you two disgustingly cute lovebirds, eyes back on the screen."

Rachel smacked the younger Stoll for interrupting the adorable couple. "You really need to work on your timing, Connor," she huffed.

 **The camera cut to the street, focusing on the manhole as the shapeshifter came out of it and ran off. Two seconds later, the Winchesters appeared as well.**

"That's not normal speed," Percy pointed out, a shrewd look in his eyes.

Artemis inclined her head at him, impressed, "Perseus is correct. While this shapeshifter's speed is slow in comparison to that filthy Wendigo we witnessed before, this monster possesses remarkable speed, faster than a regular mortal."

"Great, that's just perfect," Hermes sarcastically spat out.

The war god grunted, "While it has an advantage over the punks, they could still beat it by outsmarting it. Think strategy."

Athena scoffed at him, "Ironic you would say that, _brother_."

Annabeth facepalmed.

" _Athena_!" Zeus warned her.

Ares sneered, "Don't start something you're not ready to finish, _sister_."

Huffing, the goddess of wisdom petulantly looked away. Not only did she feel betrayed by her father, but mortified. ' _I'll show them!_ ' she vowed.

 **"** **All right, let's split up," Sam suggested. Liv quickly shot him down, "No, no, no. I don't like it. We should stick together for this one."**

"I'm with Liv," Piper piped up, her statement followed by Hazel, Leo, Frank, Grover, Rachel and Will's verbal agreement.

 **Dean shot Liv a sad smile, "Sam's right, Liv. We can't afford to waste any more time, not now that it knows we're onto him." Liv looked resigned, especially when he locked eyes with Sam, his expression solemn, "Take Liv with you. I'll meet you guys around the other side."**

"Bad feeling. I've a bad, bad, _baad_ _feeling_ ," Rachel muttered to herself, rhythmically tapping her hand on her knees to quell her nerves.

Apollo glanced at the Oracle, his bright blues intense and in a soft voice, admitted, "So do I."

Worried gazes collided at the god's confirmation.

 **The scene alternated between Dean looking around an alley with his gun drawn, passersby avoiding him with frightened expressions, and Sam and Liv; whereas Sam's was hidden in his jacket pocket, Liv elected to keep her gun tucked in the back of her shorts, her hand attached to its handle, and her flannel masking it from passersby.**

"Dean's not exactly being subtle," Hecate clucked in disapproval.

 **And on it went, the camera alternating between the Winchesters as they covered ground before settling on a street corner where Sam and Liv stood waiting and Dean approached them from behind.**

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank the gods."

"I'm gonna have to disagree with you," Thalia shot the daughter of Pluto an apologetic glance. "They _need_ to find that shapeshifter, and soon, before it targets anyone else."

Artemis nodded fervently, her tone laced with apprehension, "Precisely!"

 **"** **Hey," Dean greeted them, the duo turning around and sighing in relief. "Anything?"**

 **Annoyed, Liv hissed, "Nope. Sucker's gone."**

"It could've easily changed identities. That way Dean, Sam and Liv would have no way of locating it," Thalia smartly deduced.

Percy looked disturbed, "Let's just hope the shapeshifter isn't a smart one."

"Wishful thinking," Nico scoffed.

The Big Three stared at their respective child with careful consideration, still of the opinion that the familial bond they shared to be surreal.

 **"** **All right, let's get back to the car," Dean suggested. While Sam and Liv promptly crossed the street, Dean paused as a passing car drove by. As the car passed, green eyes flashed silver-gold and the screen turned black.**

Pandemonium struck as nearly every occupant in the room voiced their shock, though none louder than the Oracle.

"OH MY GOD!" she screeched, her own green eyes wide with unmitigated horror.

In an oily drawl, Hades stated, "I believe it's safe to assume Dean Winchester came across this shapeshifter."

"And lost. _Again_!" Ares growled impassively, though Apollo easily detected the disapproval in his flaming sockets, having abandoned his shades. The war god was unwilling to admit his concern for the punk, as not only was he out of the picture, his wellbeing unknown, but the remaining Winchesters were now compromised and in danger, soon to be at the monster's mercy.

"But-, _but how_?!" Percy managed to stutter. "From what we were shown, Dean was perfectly safe!"

Hestia shook her head sadly, "Whatever occurred between Dean and the shapeshifter, it wasn't meant to be witnessed."

"Probably the Fates' morbid idea of keeping us in suspense," Hermes grumbled, not really a great fan of The Moirai due to the control they held over the fate of his favorite son.

Ariadne however, while initially shocked, remained confident, "Samuel and Olivia will not be fooled by this despicable creature's deception. I guarantee it."

Persephone nodded in wholehearted agreement, "As do I. especially Olivia. For unlike Samuel, from what we've seen and heard, Dean and Olivia never went separate ways and they have a certain bond. Nobody can come between them."

Scrutinizing the two goddesses she had a close relationship with, Aphrodite finally nodded, "I am of the same mind. They do have an unshakeable bond, one that cannot be easily torn apart by this abomination."

"Besides, I'm positive Liv can take him," Clarisse declared. "While I won't pretend to know this shapeshifter's abilities, in terms of strength, Liv's on par with it."

The war god clearly disagreed. "She's a runt. Won't make a damn dent in 'im," he scoffed, skeptical of Olivia's capability in defending herself.

Glares were thrown at Ares' direction – not that he cared – and Clarisse looked away, torn between indignation in regards to her half-sister's competence, and sadness over her father's heartless attitude.

Frank sighed, stubborn orbs fixated on the screen. He didn't know if his father was _that_ good of an actor, or if he truly didn't care about Liv – not like he clearly cared for him as proven by the moment they previously shared in the Guest Chamber. He didn't _have to_ soothe his worries – the gods clearly proved time and time again that, due to the Ancient Law, they weren't obligated to insert themselves in their demigod children's lives – and yet, Ares did of his own volition.

 **The scene opened, showing the Winchesters congregated around the Impala.**

 **"** **You think he found another way underground?" Sam inquired. The shapeshifter shrugged, "Yeah, probably. You got the keys? ...You okay?" he frowned at Liv, who had a calculating look in her dark orbs as she stared at him. She slowly cocked her head to the side and bobbed her head, "Yeah, nothing. Just a feeling…"**

Relieved, Percy cried out, "It's her demigod senses!"

A scrutinizing glint was introduced to Apollo's bright blues and a second later, a devious smirk appeared on his face, "No, no. I mean, yes, Percy, you've a point. But that's not just it. She's got something up her sleeve…"

"Like a test?" Artemis frowned in confusion.

"If I'm right, what happens next will attest to the bond Dean and Liv share," the sun god cryptically stated, prompting a few confused expressions.

 **"** **Oh?" the shapeshifter said. All of a sudden, Sam stopped and turned around, glancing at Liv for a split-second before locking eyes with the shapeshifter, "Hey, didn't Dad once face a shapeshifter in San Antonio?"**

Apollo grinned like the cat that caught the canary, "Sam must be in on it; he's suspicious. Look at him, and that look that passed between him and Liv?!"

"Hold your horses, bro," Hermes sighed, not wanting to get his hopes up, yet at the same time, he learned a crucial lesson millennia ago, and knew it was never a smart choice to bet against Apollo, not unless you _wanted_ to lose.

"We are about to find out soon enough," Poseidon cut in.

 **The shapeshifter promptly corrected him, "Oh, that was Austin. It turned out not to be a shapeshifter, it was a thought form. A psychic projection, remember?"**

"Psychics again," Zeus murmured mostly to himself, glancing at Apollo from the corner of his eye.

"Wait, _what_?" Annabeth gasped in confusion.

Irritated beyond belief, Hera snarled, " _What now_?!"

Glowering at the goddess, Annabeth retorted with a heavy dose of sarcasm, "Oh, nothing. Just wondering how exactly the shapeshifter has _Dean's memories_!"

Silence reigned in the Throne Room at the confounding revelation that had been overlooked.

"How?" Nico gaped, dumbfounded.

Artemis scowled, furious at the advantages monsters possessed. "Perchance like the Wendigo's voice mimicry ability, this shapeshifter has the ability to receive memories…" she trailed off uncertainly.

"These monsters are proving to be more dangerous than the Greek-Roman ones," a deep scowl was prominent on Hecate's face.

 **Sam let out a soft laugh and shook his head, "Oh, right. Here ya go." He tossed the keys to the shapeshifter and turned away. Moving towards the trunk, the shapeshifter opened it and cast an eye over the weapons with a laugh.**

 **"** **Don't move!" Liv snarled icily. The shapeshifter turned; Sam and Liv both had their guns drawn, steadily pointing at it and identical cold expressions on their faces. "What have you done with him?" she demanded.**

Piper shivered and she rubbed her arms, "I wouldn't want to find myself on the wrong side of them. The look on their faces could put a freakin' iceberg to shame."

"Kinda reminds me of Percy and Jason's wolf stare," Leo grinned.

Percy and Jason rolled their eyes, though they didn't vocalize a disagreement.

 **The shapeshifter blinked at the duo, "Guys, chill. It's** ** _me_** **, all right?"**

"Don't listen to him!" a frantic Rachel yelled.

Effortlessly masking her worriment, Clarisse rolled her eyes, "Crazytown, it's not like they can _hear_ you." Like her father, Clarisse had a certain skill of hiding her true emotions behind an impenetrable mask, though unlike her father, she preferred not to utilize said gift unless in extremely dire situations. Or, like now, to disguise her soft side from the emotionless war of god with a tough exterior, as she feared he'd think her weak and pathetic.

"You have to admit though, he's a really convincing Dean," Connor grudgingly admitted.

Travis agreed with his brother, "Yeah. If we didn't see his eyes glow, I'd've thought Sam and Liv were losing it."

 **"** **I don't think so. Where's my brother?" Sam snarled through gritted teeth. Raising both hands up, the shapeshifter, smile never leaving his face, said, "You're about to shoot him. Sam, calm down. Liv-" beseeching green eyes met flinty mahoganies, "-c'mon, you** ** _know me_** **."**

 **With steady hands, Liv fired off a warning shot, the bullet a hairsbreadth from glazing his cheek. "Yeah, asshole, I know** ** _Dean_** **, and you're definitely not him. You don't tell me where he is, and the next time, I won't miss!" she snarled with conviction.**

"Damn. That's bad _ass_!" Leo whistled in appreciation, for once talking about her skills and not her appearance.

Impressed, Ares raised an eyebrow. She really was proficient with that gun, having had believed the weapon was simply for show.

"I wanna know how Liv knew it wasn't Dean," Annabeth told Percy, extremely curious.

 **Eyes intent on the shapeshifter, Sam said, "You caught those keys with your left hand. Your shoulder was hurt."**

"Smart," Ariadne complimented.

Triton added, "Observant."

 **The shapeshifter scoffed, "Yeah, it's better. What do you want me to do,** ** _cry_** **?"**

 **"** **You're** ** _not_** **my brother," Sam confidently repeated. Quick as a flash, the shapeshifter grabbed a crowbar from the trunk and struck Sam unconscious.**

"OI!" the demigods yelped in indignation.

 **He barely hit the ground when Liv pounced with a well-aimed high kick to the shapeshifter's throat, catching him off guard and knocking him back. Before he could recover, she attacked with a calf kick.**

"Cool!" the Stolls, Chris, Clarisse, Percy, Jason and Leo breathed out in awe.

Even Athena appeared to be impressed, "I must admit, she is a talented fighter with much grace and poise."

Ares gritted his teeth, preventing himself from spewing off more insults in regards to the runt. She is a runt! He knows that! And yet, she persists on proving him wrong, which he loathed more than anything.

"Why doesn't she just shoot him!" Nico groaned, hands waving overhead as a sign of nerves.

"Because the punk's location has yet to be revealed. She kills the shapeshifter, then their chances of finding him are slim," Ares grumbled, a furious tick in his jaw. "The shapeshifter's smart and Dean's his leverage."

Nico pouted and folded his arms together, "I _know that_. I just really want her to kill that thing."

"Don't we all," Hermes huffed.

 **Approaching him, Liv threw her fist forward, but the shapeshifter was prepared; he grabbed her wrist and flipped her over, landing her flat on her back. Still not releasing her wrist from his tight grip, the shapeshifter loomed over her and the camera focused on the sole of his shoes as it impacted with her face, the screen turning black.**

"Son of a mother-effing _dick-brain_!" Rachel furiously cussed.

Thalia winced as she stroked her face, "Trust me, that's _very_ painful. Face getting stomped on? I wouldn't recommend it, I really wouldn't."

"Who would?" Percy rhetorically retorted.

His personal belief solidified, Ares snorted, "Pitiful weakling. Couldn't hold her own for even a minute."

"Neither could Sam!" Thalia snapped back, insulted on Liv's behalf.

"That punk didn't even see it coming. The runt on the other hand, _did_ ," the war god volleyed, each word rumbling loudly in the room.

Silver eyes narrowed in on Ares, "That should be your last concern. Frankly, I'm astounded none of you thought of our main dilemma." She acknowledged the room with an air of disappointment as she elaborated, "This _monstrosity_ has already demonstrated his inhumane treatment of women. With Olivia in his grasp, vulnerable and defenseless, how do you think she shall fare once she awakens?"

Glowering at a rapidly paling Ares, Athena haughtily remarked, "In my opinion, Olivia held herself valiantly against this abomination."

"Wait, you think, do you think… is that _thing_ going to torture Liv?" Katie tearfully inquired, hazel-brown orbs burning a hole through the goddess of the hunt.

"I believe so, young one," Artemis' tone rang with honesty, her lips curved in a sad line. "I _hope_ not."

Both, the love goddess and the sun god glanced at Ares from the corner of their eyes, reading the warring emotions that were vividly displayed in not only his flaming sockets, but his frown lines. He was struggling, plain and simple – his heart, mind, soul, they were all at war with one another, but his infamous obstinacy stood unmovable, and he encouraged it, not wanting to admit how wrong he was, among others…

"Frank, I'm terrified," Hazel whimpered, burying herself deeper in his muscled arms.

Kissing the top of her head, Frank smiled, "Don't worry. They'll be okay. Besides, Liv's a fighter, a warrior. She won't go down without a fight."

Steeling themselves, one by one, all conversation came to a halt, allowing the episode to resume and they waited with abated breaths for what fate lay in store for the Winchesters.

 **The scene opened in a dark location, the room appearing dingy and dusty, and the sound of running water permeating the air. The shot zoomed in on Sam – a purple bruise blossoming on his cheekbone – as he slowly regained consciousness, his groans of pain echoing in the dark room; thick rope was coiled around his neck and hands, bounding him to a wooden post. Looking to his left, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Liv, bound similarly to him. She, however, was unconscious, her face coated with blood, the trail coming from her nose and into her hair.**

" _Di immortales_ ," every goddess in the room simultaneously breathed out, and even Hera wasn't immune to the horrifying scene, her orbs shining with unshed tears.

Imitating a feral animal, all charm gone, Poseidon snarled, "That bastard!"

"She should have a broken nose," Rachel whimpered in distress.

"It's the ichor that courses through her veins," Apollo matter-of-factly disclosed, his face devoid of any and all emotion as he observed the frozen image of the bloody Olivia. "Makes her more durable than a regular human; allows her to withstand hard blows."

Trying to maintain a semblance of calm, Hestia warmly said, "I'm sure it looks worse than it truly is. Once she washes her face and gets rid of the blood, hopefully her wounds aren't too severe."

"That didn't really help, sister," Demeter moaned into her hand.

The itch to dole out a brutal beating consumed Ares. He may _strongly_ dislike the brat, but it didn't mean he was okay with watching her get harmed by another's filthy hand – or in this case, boot. Grinding his teeth and curling his hands into fists, it took a lot of energy to compose himself and maintain his stoic disposition. Nevertheless, he was immensely grateful to Aphrodite when she clasped his clenched fist in her smaller hand.

 **"** **Liv? Oh, God, Liv.** ** _Olivia_** **! Get up, Liv, come on," Sam groaned in a mixture of worry and pain as he attempted to wake her up. At that moment, the shapeshifter, still wearing Dean's face, advanced with more rope, his expression and stance impassive now that he no longer had to continue his charade, "Oh, don't worry. She's alive. How long she remains alive is, well… I'm still undecided."**

"Dick!" Piper hissed.

 **Sam glowered at him, "Where is he? Where's Dean?"**

 **Smirking, the shapeshifter paused in front of Liv. "I wouldn't worry about him. I'd worry about you, and this bitch here. Got a real mean kick, you know that?" there was a mocking quality to his tone and he made an act of rubbing his neck before he backhanded Liv –** ** _hard_** **. The painful sound of skin on skin echoed in the dark space and Liv's eyes shot open with a yelp.**

A menacing growl reverberated in the room and a myriad of widened eyes fixated on Ares, who seemed to have given up all pretense. Glowering back, the roaring fire in his sockets warned them to maintain their silence.

"I tell you brother, a nice bolt of lightning would do this abomination a world of good," Poseidon snarled, hand clenching on his Trident.

Zeus inhaled deeply, surprising the demigods with his anger on behalf of Liv. "I believe this may be one of the rare times we actually agree on something," he retorted, his tone composed in contrast to his tense posture and electrifying eyes.

 **"** **You faggot!" she shouted, struggling to unbind herself as she glared daggers at the shapeshifter's smirking face.**

 **Crouching so that he could be on the same level as her, the shapeshifter let out a menacing chuckle. "You want to know what excites me the most when it comes to my female victims? The blood. I love it when they get messy. Then they begin to barter with me as desperation hits; begging, crying, screaming for help.** ** _Ahhh_** **," he looked wistful and Liv tried avoiding his finger as he traced the blood on her face. "Music to my ears. Gives me a-, a rush of power."**

"Oh gods, that's one sick freak!" Thalia adopted an expression that was a mixture of horrified and revulsion. "That's just, that's just _sick_!"

Artemis was seething, "Swine, undeserving of life!"

Hazel clamped her hands over her ears, unmitigated horror all over her face, and she wasn't the only one. Every female in the room looked positively disgusted, sick to their stomach at his nauseating speech.

 **"** **Yeah well, shifter like you, takes the identity of** ** _real_** ** _men_** **and forces your authority on women in the worst possible way, subjugating them to your perverse mind and keeping them bound so that they're completely under your mercy, unable to fight back… not only are you a sick freak, but you're** ** _clearly_** **compensating for what you severely lack," she sneered and then spat in his face.**

"Holy _Styx_!" the Stolls intoned in awe.

Thalia shook her head in amazed disbelief, "That girl's definitely my idol! _Damn_ , she's got a mouth on her! _Wow_!"

"She has a death wish, though," Katie pointed out in fear, a slight quiver in her voice. "Provoking him isn't exactly smart. She insulted him and spat in his face _while_ tied up. I mean, she's obviously at a disadvantage here!"

Suppressing his smile, Ares mentally breathed, ' _Atta girl!_ ' and if he chose to remain ignorant of the bubble of pride bursting inside him, then, well, nobody was to know and he wasn't planning on telling anyone.

"We've definitely got another Percy on our hands," Annabeth shook her head fondly, torn as she agreed with both, Thalia and Katie.

Percy mock scowled, "Hey, I'm not _that_ bad."

"Oh, please. You've got no sense of self-preservation _whatsoever_. Always running your mouth and egging on your enemies," Thalia scoffed, smirking at the son of Poseidon.

Her words only succeeded in prompting a groan from the Sea God who decided that he _didn't want to know_ …

Artemis, who had been oddly quiet up till now, finally spoke up, her voice bursting with pride and admiration, "A phenomenal woman. Immortality would _definitely_ suit her."

 **Roaring with rage, the shapeshifter backhanded her again, ignoring Sam's yells to leave her alone. Keeping eye contact with him, Liv spat blood on the ground by his feet and sneered, "That the best you got?"**

"Oh gods, somebody shut her up!" Piper groaned.

Aphrodite shook her head, offering her daughter a sad, commiserating smile, "It's in her DNA, sweetie. Most children of Ares are inherently incapable of backing down from a fight."

Ares looked indignant but smartly kept quiet as it was widely known among the gods that it was one of his Fatal Flaws.

"Tell me about it," Percy sighed, staring at Clarisse in particular, who retorted with a sneer.

"Shut it, Prissy!"

 **"** **Stop antagonizing him, Liv!" Sam snapped. "Look, just tell us where Dean is."**

 **Chuckling, the shapeshifter addressed Sam, "You don't really wanna know." Shaking his head, he smirked, "I swear, the more I learn about you and your family… I thought** ** _I_** **came from a bad background."**

"The Tartarus does that mean?!" Jason demanded, mostly in confusion.

Backing up her boyfriend, Piper straightened her posture, "Yeah, what does he mean by _that_? How exactly is he 'learning' about them?"

 **"** **What do you mean, _learn?"_ Sam inquired with a frown.**

And to the entire room's surprise, they received the answer they were most curious of, yet in a wholly unexpected way. The shapeshifter's face was scrunched up in a mixture of pain and concentration as he squinted at the ground, a quick succession of voices echoing in the air, sounding almost as though it were reverberating in his head.

"What the Styx was that?" Percy gasped. "Is that, is he _reading_ Dean's mind?"

Gasping in comprehension, Hecate's widened eyes detached from the screen, "Dean's memories, his thoughts, he's unwillingly projecting them. Like a telepathic link, the shapeshifter has access to the person it chooses to mimic."

"Ignoring the fact that it's a monster's ability, that's _really_ cool," Travis crowed.

Leo huffed, a pout on his lips, "That's totally unfair. Why do monsters have the coolest abilities?!"

"How has this unique brand of monster been roaming around in _our_ world, undetected!?" Artemis furiously demanded.

Hades grunted, irritation crossing his features, "Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with an acceptable answer. For I still ask myself the same question. Ghosts wandering around without need of a summoner, demons, and apparently Hell exists. We are all in the same boat. Again, _unfortunately._ " The Lord of the Underworld looked severely displeased.

"Can we rehash this argument _later_ ," Aphrodite abruptly snapped, distressed. "I want to know what happened to Dean and see to Samuel and Olivia's wellbeing!"

 **"** **What's with the constipated look," Liv taunted, rolling her eyes when Sam hissed for her to 'be quiet'.**

 **His face relaxing into its favored impassive expression, the shapeshifter stared at Sam, focusing his complete attention on him. "He's got issues with** ** _you_** **.** ** _You_** **got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean," he chuckled dryly. "** ** _I_** **had to stay home. With Dad. And Liv. You don't think** ** _I_** **had dreams of** ** _my own_** **? But Dad needed me.** ** _Liv_** **needed me. Where the hell were** ** _you_** **?"**

"What is this?!" Percy demanded, not liking the sudden change currently happening onscreen.

Apollo sadly disclosed, "The shapeshifter's revealing Dean's innermost thoughts. The wishes and dreams he kept buried inside. The, in _Dean's_ opinion, selfish part of himself that he kept locked and buried deep, deep down."

"He has no right!" Annabeth snapped, a heavy frown aimed at the screen. "I mean, it's almost like the shapeshifter's _violating_ him."

An oddly soft scoff emanated from Dionysus' lips, "He's a monster, Annie Bell, and monsters do not play fair."

 **Keeping his face impassive, in a steely voice, Sam repeated, "Where.** ** _Is._** ** _My_** **. Brother?!"**

 **Leaning closer, the shapeshifter calmly replied, "** ** _I am_** **your brother. See, deep down, I'm just jealous.** ** _You got friends_** **.** ** _You could have a life_** **. Me? I know I'm a freak. And sooner or later, everybody's gonna leave me. Well…" he trailed off in afterthought and turned his attention onto Liv, who looked slightly terrified as she gazed back with wide eyes. An eerie smile materialized on his face, "Except, of course, you,** ** _Ollie_** **. Liv would** ** _never_** **leave me. See-" his eyes flickered from Sam and then back to Liv, "-she's a fre** **ak like me. Dyslexic, ADHD, nobody wants to be friends with a loser like her. Nobody sticks around for poor** ** _Ollie_** **, not Sammy here, not her precious Keane, not her loser boyfriend-**

"AHA!" Aphrodite let out a yell of victory and despite her frazzled nerves, she couldn't help but announce, "I sensed her suffering from a broken heart. This just proves it!"

Athena glared at her, "I don't know why I am surprised. You demand we stay quiet until the Winchesters are safe and yet, the moment you hear woes about love and boy drama, you interject with your dramatics."

Rolling her kaleidoscopic eyes, the Goddess of Love waved a hand at Athena's general direction, "I was merely making an observation."

"Yes," Dionysus drawled. "Like I always make mine. And yet somehow, I get berated for _having_ observations in the first place."

"Don't be such a child," Hera sneered.

"Yes, Mother," Dionysus mocked in a sickly saccharine voice.

 **-not even her** ** _deadbeat_** **Daddy-"**

The sound of knuckles cracking and teeth grinding against each other echoed in the Throne Room, yet again, nobody commented.

…Ares looked frighteningly furious.

 **"** ** _Shut up. Shut up, SHUT UP_** **!" Liv screamed at the top of her lungs, her face flushed red with rage and tears welling in her eyes.**

Tears started to well in Aphrodite, Persephone, Ariadne, Hestia, Amphitrite, Demeter, Rachel, Piper, Hazel and Annabeth's eyes as well, while the remaining occupants in the room either looked uncomfortable or dejected.

 **Smirking, the shapeshifter crouched again in front of Liv, his voice cold and uncaring, "Oh, but that's not the worst part,** ** _Olivia_** **. You see, the only reason I stick around is 'cause you've got abandonment issues, you'd never leave me. Like my loyal lapdog, always sniffing around my feet for love and affection and attention." He cooed, stroking her bloodied cheek with the back of his fingers, a tear escaping her eyelid and falling onto his finger. "Truth is,** ** _I hate you. Always have_** **-"**

 **"** **He's lying! Liv, Liv** ** _don't_** **listen to him. Dean** ** _adores you_** **, you know he does," Sam shouted, attempting to drown the shapeshifter's voice.**

"Sick son of a goddamn bitch!" Apollo hissed, his eyes glowing unnaturally.

Greek and Latin curses permeated the air as everybody got worked into a fit of rage, angered on Olivia's behalf.

"That's not cool. Not cool at all," Connor snapped, his usually mischievous and mirthful face flushed with rage.

"QUIET!" Zeus boomed. The foundation of the room shook slightly and the smell of ozone saturated the room. "While I, too, share your sentiments, let us attempt to proceed uninterrupted. The hour grows late and we still have much to witness."

"Ares-"

" _Don't_ ," he hissed, promptly silencing his lover. "Please, Affie, just, just _don't_."

 **"** **Am I?" he taunted, intent eyes never leaving Liv. "Is this denial I am sensing? Or are you simply** ** _incapable_** **of accepting the fact that nobody can ever love you. I'm Dean, Liv. This is** ** _me_** **talking. I** ** _never_** **loved you.** ** _God_** **, when Dad first told us about you, and that you were going to live with us, I hated the idea of having a baby around. You were, and still are, a** ** _liability._** **It wasn't enough that I had to raise Sam, now I had you sucking up all my free time. Another vulnerable kid to keep safe, another mouth to feed, another bed to spare. Dad goes and hunts, leaves me alone to change your diapers and teach you right from wrong, and keep you out of danger. Like seriously? I wish you died with your loser of a Mom, spared me the trouble-"**

 **"** **Liv, you're not actually buying this crap! Dean loved Aunt Vic.** ** _Don't_** **listen to him!" Sam shouted once more as he tried to get through to her.**

 **Glaring at Sam, the shapeshifter remained in Liv's personal space as he sneered at him, "Right. You left. And hell, I did** ** _everything_** **Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin', just** ** _poof_** **. Left me with** ** _her_** **sorry ass-" confused, his mouth snapped shut and he looked at Liv with wide, uncomprehending eyes.**

"Okay, she's officially lost her mind," Frank slowly commented, he too, staring at Liv in bewilderment.

Turning to meet Apollo's gaze, Percy asked, "Is this some side-effect from the shapeshifter bashing her face in?"

"No. at least, I don't, I don't think so. It's not that hard a hit that the ichor couldn't protect her from. I think it's just stress…" Apollo trailed off with an uncertain half-shrug.

 **Halfway into the shapeshifter's diatribe, Liv burst into loud, uproarious laughter, her eyes shining with mirth and her entire body shaking with the strength of her laughter. Both Sam and the shapeshifter stared, rendered speechless. Finally calming down, Liv hiccupped before she trained narrowed eyes on the shapeshifter, "You're such a pathetic piece of shit, you know that?** ** _Almost_** **had me fooled,** ** _but_** **you gave yourself away." Then, as though a switch went off, her expression darkened, "Broadcasting my abandonment issues, bringing up my no-show of a father, Keane and** ** _him_** **…** **yeah, that was a dick move. Gotta admit, you sure know how to bring out the waterworks-"**

 **"** **Liv-"**

 **"** **Shut up, Sam. I'm not done."**

"No self-preservation _at all_ ," Katie shrieked, though she had to admit, Olivia Winchester did make for an inspiring character.

Thalia and Artemis leaned forward eagerly, curious for what she had to say.

 **Never taking her eyes off the confused shapeshifter, Liv continued with her ranter, "I believe you. You're not Dean. Not by a longshot. But you** ** _do_** **share his thoughts. Me giving you a hard time,** ** _wow_** **, that bruised your ego, didn't it? So you delved into Dean's thoughts, searching for a way to make me hurt emotionally as payback, and also 'cause you're one sick freak. And it must've** ** _pissed you off_** **when you found _nothing."_**

 **"** **NOTHING!?" he bellowed, slamming his hands against the wall behind her and caging her between his arms, his face a hairsbreadth away from hers, teeth bared, and by now, they were both ignoring Sam's yells of rage. "You deaf, you lil' bitch?! I gave you** ** _every reason_** **-"**

 **"** **You gave me** ** _jack shit_** **!" Liv interjected with an impressive sneer, an arrogant smile curling on her lips. "Next time you try to provoke someone, you should look deeper,** ** _jackass_** **. See, everything you just said, about me, about Dean, about how I was another burden and how he didn't want me… I already** ** _know_** **all that."**

"What?"

"She's joking, right?"

"That can't be?"

Disbelief was the next emotion to appear on everyone's face.

 **Sam stopped yelling at the shapeshifter and gaped at his cousin, "** ** _What_** **?"**

"I see Sam's as clueless and as surprised as the rest of us," Leo sarcastically commented.

"Well, of course he is!" Aphrodite was outraged. "The bond between Dean and Liv, even without meeting them in person, it's a bond of pure, familial, and unconditional love. It _cannot_ be."

 **"** **Those were Dean's initial thoughts when I first came into the picture after my mother died. You know** ** _fifteen years ago_** **." Liv elaborated, her voice eerily void of any emotion. "But he got over that real quickly. Never asked why or how, but he told me. Came clean after Sam ran off to college. Didn't want there to be any secrets between us. And I'm glad he did, otherwise a jackass like you would've succeeded in coming between us. I'm not exactly sorry for putting a damper to your-"**

 **With an incensed roar, the shapeshifter backhanded Liv so hard, she fell unconscious.**

 **"** **Hey!" Sam snarled, furious.**

More yells of outrage permeated the room and it took at least ten minutes for an enraged Zeus and Hestia to bring the room back to order.

 **Aiming one last kick at her slumped form, the shapeshifter composed himself and turned to Sam, his voice once again impassive, "You know, Sam. This life? It's not without its perks." He laughed. "I meet the** ** _nicest_** **people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let's see what happens." Grabbing a sheet, he loomed forward, "But you two sit tight. Once I'm done, I'll be back to torture your bitch of a cousin until she** ** _begs_** **for death." And with a parting sinister smile, he covered a struggling Sam and the screen turned black.**

" _Bang her_! _Bang. Her_?! How _demeaning_!" Artemis hissed acidly, orbs narrowed into slits.

"When he says 'bang her', does he mea-"

Glaring daggers at Dionysus, Hera crisply interjected before he could conclude his inappropriate sentence, "You know _exactly_ what the monster meant, Dionysus!"

Shrugging, the wine god forced his devious expression into one of innocent curiosity. "I was simply curious."

Frothing at the mouth, Hera screeched her retort, instigating a one-sided screaming match between the two, where Hera screamed her head off and Dionysus listened with a bored expression, lounging lazily -on his throne while his beloved Ariadne suffered alongside him, refereeing the pair in case Hera blew the matter into greater proportions.

Meanwhile, the others were voicing their concerns regarding the Winchesters, the shapeshifter and Rebecca.

"I am concerned over Rebecca's wellbeing," Hestia admitted in a low murmur.

Inclining her head, Aphrodite pressed her lips into a thin line and glanced at her uneasy lover from the corner of her eye. "Yes, while I, too, am troubled about this shapeshifter's _atrocious_ interest in Rebecca, I am more concerned with Olivia's health. Constant blunt force trauma to the head, even for a demigod, can't be good," she declared hysterically.

The sun god nodded. "The power behind the slap must've been overwhelming to render her unconscious," Apollo elaborated, providing reason behind Aphrodite's concerns.

"That's 'cause a weakling like her cannot withstand an attack. The runt's too weak, too frail, just like I've been saying from the very beginning," Ares viciously spat, sneering at nobody in particular.

Demeter hissed at her nephew. "You know that's not true! You just hate to be proven wrong," she snapped.

"If anyone's to blame, it's you and your damn genes," Hermes coldly remarked, eyes blazing at his brother as he didn't appreciate his heartless comment in regards to the young, admirable demigod he was growing immensely fond of. "Provoking an opponent whilst in a vulnerable state, shooting her mouth off, unwilling to back down from a fight, _even_ at the risk of death… It's got you written all over. She's a true daughter of yours and for some confounding reason I cannot even _pretend_ to understand, you've decided to hate her and belittle her."

The God of War emitted a terrifying growl that prompted every single demigod to cower backwards and keep their opinions to themselves, especially those that had been about to defend Olivia. "My feelings about the runt I never wanted is _none_ of your business, Hermes, so you keep your nose out of it before I rip it right off!" he threatened, each word laced with a warning.

But Hermes wasn't one to back down from a fight. He had never felt terrified of the intimidating war god, and he wasn't about to start cowering before him now. "She may be a child you hadn't planned on conceiving, and you may not want her, but she's still _my niece_. She's family. And if I want to bloody defend her honor when she's not here to speak for herself, then I bloody well will and _nothing_ you say will change my damn mind, _brother_ ," he vehemently retorted with an impressive sneer of his own.

And with that, another argument broke out, one more volatile than the ridiculous one that Dionysus, Hera and Ariadne were _still_ engrossed in. Every remaining god and goddess intruded on the altercation between Hermes and Ares, either interjecting with a biting remark of their own, or attempting to put an end to it before weapons could be drawn or worse, utilized their godly powers.

The demigods, Rachel and Grover gaped at the immortals, their eyes wide and unblinking. It was utter pandemonium. They were all on their feet, yelling at one another and some even flailed their hands around. Poseidon, Zeus, Hestia and Demeter could be seen struggling, to no avail, to terminate the heated debate and at one point, Poseidon was forced to physically stop Ares from releasing a fireball while Demeter, at the same time, yanked Apollo's quiver from his grip and smacked him atop the head with it.

"Brother," Zeus let out a weary sigh as he turned desperate eyes onto Hades. "Your help would be _greatly_ appreciated."

Arching an impassive eyebrow, Hades lounged back on his throne and propped his chin on his fist. "Truly, brother? Why don't you simply control them like you normally do in their everyday lives? After all, I'm never around to grant you aid, seeing as I am _banned_ from Olympus, _brother_ ," his lips curved into a smile of contempt, his tone sardonic.

Rubbing his face, Zeus was close to ripping his precious hair right off his head. Oh how he _despised_ asking Hades for help. Scanning the room for his siblings, he groaned at the sight of pure bedlam: Demeter had one hand on her hip while the other wildly brandished Apollo's quiver in the air, and as she dressed-down the twin archers, it was interspersed with a well-aimed thump to each of their heads using said quiver; Hestia managed to wrangle, with Hecate and Persephone's considerate aid, Triton, Amphitrite, Athena and Hephaestus – who chose the _worst_ moment to abandon his tinkering and join the fray – back into their respective thrones; Poseidon had Ares in a body-lock, all but his son's head covered in roaring flames of his own doing and due to his brother's province, he was the best candidate due to his resistance to fire. Thankfully, Aphrodite had stepped up, and was attempting to talk Hermes out of continuing his altercation with Ares. His electric-blue orbs finally connected with his sister-wife's form and he inwardly groaned at the insufferable goddess! Too engrossed in her ludicrous _one-sided_ shouting-match with Dionysus, she was _completely_ blind to her surroundings and the ongoing havoc.

Meeting Hades' gaze, Zeus narrowed his eyes, positive that his eldest brother was taking full enjoyment out of watching him suffer. "They've never been so _out of control_ before. Not even Hestia can control them. _Hestia_ , Hades! And _Poseidon_? He's the 'cool' uncle they all bend over backwards trying to please, and not even _he_ is having any success," by the end of his bitter rant, Zeus' chest was heaving and Hades actually blinked in shock, all scorn and ridicule sliding off his handsomely chiseled face like grease. Apparently, the King of Olympus wasn't as happy as he wanted everyone to believe, and the raw honesty had the Lord of the Underworld beginning to cave.

"Alright," Hades sighed. Pure obsidian orbs flared with purple fire as he beckoned the shadows to him. Sensing their master, the shadows instantly obeyed, allowing themselves to be twisted to his will and they pounced, taking away Ares, Hermes and Hera's sight, enshrouding the three immortals in pure darkness.

Shouts of alarm escaped the trio's lips and Hera, knowing the perpetrator, snarled, " _Hades_! Give me my sight back."

Stepping forward, Zeus, an aura of power hugging his words, commanded, "Not until I have my say, and you _will_ keep your silence until I am _done_. I do not want to hear another word out of you. If it weren't for Hades' intervention I don't want to even _imagine_ what your arguments would have escalated into. I find myself _utterly disappointed_ in you. Now, Hades will release you, and _the moment_ you regain your sight, I want you return to your throne and _restrain yourselves_ from arguing further."

Silence consumed the Throne Room as Hades, with a lazy flick of his wrist, released the trio from the shadows. Ares and Hermes adamantly avoided looking at each other as they returned to their respective throne, the rage inside them yet to be abated. On the other hand, Hera frowned petulantly at her stone-faced husband and with an aggravated huff, sat down.

"Wow," Percy eloquently whispered.

Nodding, the wide-eyed demigods, Oracle and Satyr huddled into each other and locked their eyes onto the screen, honestly intimidated by the greatest altercation between the gods since their arrival to the past.

 **The scene opened to show the interior of Rebecca's house and a knock at the door could be heard. The camera focused on Rebecca as she descended the stairs and opened the door to show the shapeshifter, still in the form of Dean, waiting on the other side.**

 **"** **Oh. Hi," Rebecca had a cold front, her eyes narrowed. The shapeshifter smirked, "I know what you're gonna say."**

 **Folding her arms together, she snapped condescendingly, "** ** _Oh_** **, you do?"**

" _Oh gods,_ " Rachel's voice was nothing more than a hushed whisper as tension was still high in the room.

The demigods and Grover threw her an inquiring look, which went ignored.

 **He did a small shrug. "Well, no, not exactly. But I can take a guess. Get off my porch?" he chuckled, prompting a short laugh out of her, her expression mellowing slightly as she confirmed it. "I admit it, we lied. Thought I'd try to explain myself. Sam told me not to come, but, you know, I thought,** ** _what the hell_** **, I have to try," he concluded with a disarming smile.**

"That's cheating. Using Dean's gorgeous looks and ineffable charm for _evil_ ," Piper hissed, sounding uncannily like an enraged cat.

Jason rolled his eyes.

" _Oh, gods_!" Rachel repeated, sounding more hysterical and incredibly frazzled, her voice increasing a notch that had a few gods stare at her in incomprehension. Ever since the opening scene, Rachel couldn't help but obsess over it, attempting to make sense of what particular reason S.W.A.T. would be chasing after somebody as good and pure as Dean Winchester – despite his innumerous felonies.

…but now, _now_ it all made sense!

"Of course!" she exclaimed, emerald orbs frantically colliding with the confused ones of her friends. "All this time, we thought _Dean_ was being chased by the S.W.A.T. team when, it's not _actually_ Dean, but the shapeshifter _wearing_ _Dean's_ _face_!"

Many palms connected with their owners' foreheads as suddenly, the most startling occurrence made _perfect_ sense.

"That's not good though," Aphrodite frowned, the first of the gods to speak up and break the tension. "Whatever happens to the shapeshifter, _Dean_ will be the one that takes the fall, just like the other mortal men the monster imitated."

 **Back to the dark room, Sam was trying, and failing, to unbind himself, all the while, he kept calling out for Liz, his worried eyes flickering over her unconscious form. She had a huge swelling on her cheek, visible under the congealed blood that coated her face.**

Apollo winced, a whistling sound escaping him. "That's gonna smart in the morning. It's gonna make one ugly bruise. Good news, though?" he suddenly smiled, the familiar emotion allowing Aphrodite to breathe easier and even Ares secretly relaxed. "Her jaw isn't broken and neither are any of her facial bones, otherwise there'd be a cut or puncture. Worst of all, she's lucky the bone didn't come through, that monster packs one hell of a punch to get a swelling that large from a demigod."

"Somehow, I'm still anxious," Demeter huffed.

Leo shrugged. "Well, obviously. I mean, the shapeshifter's still out there and he's got a major grudge against Liv."

Groans echoed in the room.

" _Leo_!" Piper, Annabeth and Thalia hissed, glaring daggers at him.

Perplexed, he frowned, "What?"

Hephaestus grunted, a small smile materializing on his face.

"You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut, McShizzle," Jason laughed, as the color drained from Demeter, Ariadne, Persephone and Aphrodite's faces.

 **"** **Damn it," Sam hissed as he failed** ** _again_** **to untie himself. "C'mon, Liv get up!" he pleaded. At that exact moment, movement could be heard from nearby, prompting Sam to whip his head at the general direction. A familiar cough was followed by a groaned-yell, "That better be you, Sam, and not that freak of nature."**

"Oh, thank the Lord Almighty!" Katie let out a mini-cheer, her entire face lighting up.

Hermes chuckled, the sound slightly strained, "Yup, that's definitely him and his uniquely jocular attempt to make light of abysmal situations."

 **Sam laughed in relief. "Yeah it's me… Dean, Liv's not looking so good," he urgently revealed. The words barely escaped him when Dean abruptly yanked the sheet from his form and harshly pulled on the ropes binding him, frantic eyes locked onto his cousin's unconscious and bloody form. "What the hell did that bastard do to her?" he coldly demanded.**

Hera smiled. "I do not know _how_ the shapeshifter thought he could ever pit those two against each other…" she lightly trailed off.

 **With a low groan, Liv's eyelashes fluttered and she opened her eyes, "** ** _Owiee_** **, my head."**

 **"** ** _Liv_** **!" the brothers exclaimed. Blinking in shock, Liv stared from one brother to another, "So, Dean… I had a bad feeling a while back."**

 **Grinning despite their situation, Dean lightly snarked, "What? Your spider-sense started tingling?"**

 **A relieved bubble of laughter escaped her which was quickly covered by a wince as the movement aggravated her swollen cheek, "Yup, you're definitely Dean."**

" _That's_ how she knew it wasn't Dean!" Annabeth exclaimed, her curiosity satisfied.

Connor had a shit-eating grin on his face, "Right. The shapeshifter just blinked at her in confusion instead of making some smart-ass comment. Totally gave him away."

Frowning in puzzlement, Artemis slowly drew out the unfamiliar term, "Spider-sense? I do not understand."

Nico and Hazel bobbed their head in agreement, not comprehending the odd argot either.

"It's a Spider-Man reference," Percy immediately elucidated. "Basically, Spider-Man's a superhero with spider-like abilities and whenever danger is nearby or he's got a bad feeling, there's a tingling sensation at the base of his skull, kind of like a warning sign or an alarm."

Hecate ' _ahha-ed_ ' in comprehension, her intrigue having grown at the mention of spider-like abilities. "Quite similar to demigod intuition."

 **Smiling grimly, Sam said, "Hate to break up your little bonding session, but he went to Rebecca's lookin' like you, Dean."**

 **"** **Well, he's not stupid. He picked the handsome one," Dean jokingly remarked, prompting a small chuckle from Liv and a bemused look from Sam.**

"Oh, Dean was missed dearly," Aphrodite cooed.

Incensed, Ares rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth.

 **The camera alternated back to Rebecca's living room, where Rebecca and the shapeshifter were sitting by the fireplace. "So,** ** _you're saying_** **that there's something out there that made itself** ** _look_** **like my brother," she skeptically stated.**

"Is he for real?" Chris gaped at the screen.

Clarisse squinted, a calculating expression on her face. "He's planning something. He's obviously not providing information out of the _goodness of his heart_ ," she scoffed.

"Normally, in most cases, the truth is revealed when no survivors is a certainty," Ares impassively disclosed. Blank stares and a few confused ones that solely belonged to the demigods, Rachel and Grover were aimed at the war god, prompting him to aggressively roll his eyes, " _Meaning_ , he's planning on killing her."

" _Ohhhhh_!"

Rolling his eyes again, Ares sarcastically grunted, "Yeah, _oh_."

Aphrodite smacked his bicep lightly. "Be nice!" she chastised him.

 **At the shapeshifter's hum of affirmative, she played along, "What'd you call it?"**

 **"** **A shapeshifter," was the prompt reply, and Rebecca laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "Yeah, maybe we're crazy. But what if we're not? I mean, look, you said it yourself that Zach was in two places at once. Now, tell me how that can happen," he convinced her.**

 **She raised both eyebrows, "Okay, so, this** ** _thing_** **…** **it can make itself look like anybody?" and when he confirmed it, she chuckled again. "Well, what is it, like a genetic freak?"**

"Ooh," Leo winced, squirming in his seat.

Rachel curled into Connor's side. "I don't like this," she anxiously whimpered.

 **The shapeshifter laughed, "Maybe. Evolution is about mutation, right? So, maybe this thing was born human but was different. Hideous and hated. Until he learned to become someone else."**

Uncomfortable, Frank couldn't suppress himself from flinching, unnerved at the shapeshifter's admission that this brand of monster started out human, adding up the similarities in his head. Realizing the direction of his thoughts, Ares flashed him a warning glare, putting an abrupt end to his repeated moment of self-deprecation.

Sheepish, Frank looked away.

 **Rebecca shifted uncomfortably, and as she looked away, a sinister smile appeared on his face, his eyes glinting silver-gold.**

 **Back to the Winchesters, they were still attempting to release themselves; "Yeah, that's the thing. He didn't just** ** _look_** **like you, he** ** _was_** **you. Or he was becoming you," a confused Sam was informing Dean. Finally out of his ropes, Dean frowned as he rushed over to untie Liv first, "What do you mean?"**

 **"** **Kind of like he was projecting you, I dunno. It was freaky," Liv murmured, lowering her gaze. Dean sent Sam an inquiring look. Sighing, Sam nodded, "It was like he was downloading your thoughts and memories."**

"Downloading? That's one way to describe it," Apollo commented, grudgingly impressed at the ability.

Artemis appeared to be sharing the same sentiment, "I must say, it _is_ fascinating. Though destructive when wielded by evil."

 **Dean's eyebrows shot upwards, "You mean, like the Vulcan mind meld?"**

Hephaestus tore his gaze from the annulus-shaped contraption he had been absorbed in, screwdriver held limply in hand as he blinked in confusion, head cocked for an explanation.

"What is this concerning Hephaestus' Roman counterpart?" Athena voiced the general bewilderment shared amongst the gods.

The Trekkies reacted instantaneously; while the Stolls and Leo whooped in exuberance at the reference, Katie, Percy and Will emitted a conjoined sound of realization: " _Oooohhhh_!"

A trait both mother and daughter shared in common – they hated to be kept out of the loop and more so, they had a _need_ to know _everything_ before _anyone_. Therefore, while Athena made a disgruntled noise as she glowered at the six 'Trekkie' demigods, Annabeth playfully bumped shoulders with Percy and, in a completely serious voice, demanded, "Would any one of you _mind_ sharing with the class?"

It was chaotic, _plainly put_.

The Stolls, Percy, Katie, Leo and Will opted to assemble an explanation _simultaneously_ , allowing nobody to comprehend a single word.

Much to everyone's surprise, Hephaestus brought his hands together and clapped, resulting in an explosive sound that had the Throne Room trembling at its aftermath, as though a diminutive earthquake had struck, leaving behind no casualties, but stumped expressions from the seventeen young and a couple of aching eardrums.

"Now that Hephaestus has managed to garner your undivided attention," Zeus gravelly announced, electric-blues scanning the self-proclaimed _Trekkies_ – not that he pretended to comprehend mortal jargons. "You. Young daughter of Demeter. Explain," he was abrupt and to the point.

Startled at being handpicked by _Zeus himself_ , Katie cleared her throat, fought the incoming blush that threatened to flood her face, and straightened her posture. "Well, for starters, it's not named after Lord Hephaestus," she respectively prefaced. "In the Star Trek universe, Vulcan is a _fictional_ planet and its inhabitants comprise of an extraterrestrial humanoid species called Vulcans or _Vulcanians_. Now, the Vulcan Mind Meld is a sort of procedure, a kind of telepathic technique that only Vulcans can employ and it involves physical contact with another, where they'd become a single entity, making it possible to share thoughts, experiences, memories, knowledge…"

"Honestly, it's a perfect explanation to how this shapeshifter became Dean," Percy concluded in awe.

"Fascinating," Poseidon breathed out, mirth written all over his handsome features.

The blacksmith however, looked incredulous and slightly _touched_. "Huh," was all he grunted, the Olympian never having been a man of many words. After a moment of silence where everyone processed this new interesting bit of knowledge, Hephaestus made a mental note to look into this ' _universe'_ as he returned to his tinkering.

 **Sam nodded, "Yeah, somethin' like that. I mean, maybe that's why he doesn't just kill us."**

 **Taking over for Dean, Liv ripped off the loosened ropes holding her in place as he went to untie Sam. "No. It explains why he kept** ** _Dean_** **alive. I mean, if we're going off the Spock theory, he needs the psychic connection with him. But us? Doesn't explain it," she told Sam.**

Cue more confused expressions.

Piping up, Leo, practically brimming with energy, revealed, "Spock's a Vulcan. Spock's performed the mind touch before."

"Oh, how I loathe the ridiculous slang and pop-culture mortals nowadays are so fond of using," Hera grumbled to herself.

Dionysus smirked at his step-mother, "Personally, I find it entertaining."

 **"** **We'll discuss that later. Come on," Sam quickly got up, but not before he assessed Liv's face intently. "We gotta go. He's probably at Rebecca's already."**

 **The scene cut to an alley, showing the Winchesters climb out a window and land onto the street. It then focused on them, Sam fidgeting impatiently while Liv rooted through her hippie bag for an extra shirt and a small bottle of water. Grabbing them from her, Dean quickly wet the cloth and carefully wiped the blood and dirt from Liv's face.**

"Ooh! That looks painful," Persephone cried out. Now that the blood and muck was cleaned off, the swelling grabbed too much attention and prompted many to wince at the sight.

Apollo grimaced, "That's nothing compared to how it'll look in the morning."

"Dean is such a darling," Aphrodite cooed, her eyes softly taking in the intent care in which the eldest Winchester took with Olivia, ensuring he didn't hurt her as he tended to her wounds.

"Whatever," Ares grumbled, glowering at the screen, torn between gratitude to the punk and irritation at the runt.

 **"** **You done?" Sam inquired.**

 **Rolling his eyes, Dean slipped the nearly empty water back in Liv's bag and tossed the bloody and grimy shirt into a nearby trashcan. "Yeah, I've done all I can. Once we're done here, we'll get you an icepack, Liv. It'll help."**

 **Bristling, Liv crossed her arms and huffed, "You guys know this isn't my first rodeo, right? Dean, I've gotten bruises before, you need to relax-"**

"Jeez. So much for showing some gratitude," Hazel frowned, disapproval heavy in her tone.

Annabeth shrugged, empathizing with the demigod-hunter, "She _is_ grateful. But, I get it. She suddenly feels like the weakest link, and with Dean babying her in the middle of a hunt… she's angry at herself for getting hurt and she's just acting out."

' _She is the weakest link. Blasted runt of the litter,_ ' Ares maliciously growled.

 **"** **We don't have time for another one of your arguments, Liv. Rebecca doesn't have the time! We gotta find a phone, call the police" Sam snapped, glaring at Dean and Liv, the latter of whom glared right back while the former appeared shocked. Shaking his head, Dean incredulously said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're gonna put an APB out on me?"**

"Somebody _please_ tell me he's joking?" Percy demanded in outrage.

Jason looked thoughtful, "It's not a bad idea, actually." Upon finding himself on the receiving end of several looks of disbelief, mainly Percy who had skipped past disbelief and settled on anger, he defended himself, "The quicker way to find the shapeshifter is by adding more eyes. It's either _that_ or Rebecca dies. And with her death, the police'll be on the lookout for Dean for _murder_."

Before anybody could offer a retort, Dionysus impatiently interjected, "Yes, yes, pity. Now, tell me, what is APB?"

Hermes rolled his eyes, "All-points bulletin. You should know that."

"Oh, I _apologize_ ," the wine god drawled sarcastically. "Unlike you, I do not spend my time traipsing around the mortal world, living out my bachelorhood."

Apollo winked, his expression mirroring Hermes – none of them were the least bit offended by the wine god's implication, much to Artemis' annoyance. "That's 'cause you ain't a bachelor, bro," the sun god smirked.

 **Sam shrugged, unapologetic, "Sorry."**

 **Liv looked like she was about to argue with Sam, but Dean grabbed her hand and pulled her along, looking resigned. "This way," he agreed, and the trio ran down the street.**

 **The scene returned to Rebecca's living room. "It's funny. I kind of understand him," the shapeshifter was saying, Rebecca looking extremely uncomfortable. "All he wants is for someone to love him. He's like me. You know, everybody needs a little human touch now and then. It's so hard to be different." He tucked a strand behind her ear and she instantly shrugged him off.**

"Sick freak!" Thalia hissed.

Glaring daggers, Aphrodite snarled, her seductive voice dark, "He's _deliberately_ omitting. Samuel and Olivia _adore_ him. Olivia lives and breathes for Dean!"

' _Olivia, Olivia, Olivia! That's all she yaps on about,_ ' Ares thoughts reflected his irritation.

The love goddess met her lover's gaze. ' _You're projecting, darling,_ ' she telepathically retorted, dry and unamused. A growl reverberated in Ares' throat and he ripped his gaze from her enthralling sapphires; he forgot that, at times of uncontrollable anger, he became an open book to the only soul he trusted most: his darling Aphrodite.

Thankfully, she didn't probe, though he did mask a flinch upon sensing the pure anger her Divine Form was radiating, enveloping him like a blanket.

 **"** **You should go," she snapped, voice firm. In response, the shapeshifter leaned in and whispered indistinct words in her ear. Horrified, Rebecca shot to her feet, "You are** ** _disgusting_** **, just get the hell out of here!"**

 **Standing up as well, he calmly said, "Rebecca, just calm down."**

 **"** ** _Calm down_** **? What is** ** _wrong_** **with you?" she demanded in disgust.**

" _Swine_ ," Artemis sneered.

Attempting for humor, Apollo joked, "You don't even know what he said."

Persephone scoffed, "Like we need a translator to know the direction of that Neanderthal's thoughts."

 **"** **What's wrong with me? What's wrong with** ** _you_** **?" he retorted.**

 **She grabbed her phone, "I'm calling the police." But before she could dial a single number, the shapeshifter lunged, ripping the phone from her grasp and throwing it to the floor. Rebecca screamed and made an attempt to run, but he tripped her. Straddling her legs, the shapeshifter bound her hands with the telephone cord. "Give me your hands!" he roared amidst her screams. "** ** _Shut up_** **!"**

Cusses were hurled from the females, various emotions of disgust, fury and outright horror coloring their features.

"That's one week gone," Rachel whispered, her voice slightly muffled due to the fist she had pressed against her mouth. "Now S.W.A.T. will enter the scene."

A bubble of fraught laughter emanated from Leo, "Watching the start of this episode, out of the endless possibilities of _why_ Dean was being chased, this was a scenario that never even crossed my mind."

"Tell me about it," Percy wholeheartedly agreed.

"Could it… could a shapeshifter take Liv's form? I mean, is it _possible_?" Katie suddenly asked, face alight with curiosity.

Stumped, the gods took a while to ponder an acceptable response.

"I don't see why not," Hecate mused aloud. She then looked at the gorgeous blonde, "Apollo?"

Seething, Athena glared daggers at the eternal bachelor. _She_ is the goddess of WISDOM, _not_ that philandering ignoramus.

"It's true that Olivia's godly DNA does provide her with many advantages and maybe even, ironic and _wholly unbelievable_ as it may sound, a veneer of protection…" Apollo trailed off without warning, his bright and all-seeing eyes focused on a random spot on the wall. After a long pause, he shook his head and continued, and if he sounded more confident than before, well, nobody dared to point it out. "Personally, I believe any non-Greek-and-Roman entity would have a hard time breaching a demigod's mind. Perchance, the shapeshifter _could_ indeed take Olivia's form, but not without consequences. Don't ask," he sighed upon seeing his audience's confusion grow.

Clearing her throat, Hestia considered Apollo's theory, "You mean, a shapeshifter could take on Olivia's appearance, but as a consequence it could be barred from sharing her thoughts and experiencing her memories."

"Exactly!" Apollo exclaimed victoriously. " _But_ , _strictly speaking_ , this is all speculation. I could be wrong."

Hermes scoffed. ' _At least one good thing came from having Ares as a father._ '

 **The scene shifted to Rebecca's bedroom: Rebecca was tied to a chair, beaten and bloody.**

"This is it," Rachel leaned forward. "This is from the opening scene."

 **"** **You're a nice girl, Rebecca. I mean, I liked you. Believe me, that makes this harder," the shapeshifter held up a knife and examined it. He then shrugged, "But I gotta do what I gotta do." He approached her, knife poised to tear through skin, when suddenly, a crash echoed from another part of the house. Grabbing the opportunity, Rebecca let out an ear-shattering scream through her bloodstained gag, prompting the shapeshifter to cover her mouth, knife threateningly held to throat. "** ** _Shh_** **!"**

 **In the dark hallway, the S.W.A.T. team was moving forward, searching the house. The camera zoomed in on the scene; the moment their backs were turned, the shapeshifter crossed the hall and into another room. Portraying a second bedroom, the shapeshifter closed the door behind him and began looking around frantically; he moved to a set of sliding doors that led to a balcony, but just as he swung them open, the S.W.A.T. team burst in.**

" _…_ _Annndddd_ this happened as well," Percy drawled out.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, " _Shush_!"

 **"** **Freeze! Drop the knife!" one of the officers yelled, repeating himself two more times just like in the opening scene. However, once the light shone on the shapeshifter's – Dean's – face, he made a show of raising both hands before swiftly hurling the knife at one of the officers where it was embedded in his chest. The rest of the team immediately opened fire. The shapeshifter kicked the nearest officer and without a second's hesitation, went outside and jumped off the balcony, landing on his feet onto the grass below. "Come on! Go! Go!" an officer bellowed as they continued to shoot at the shapeshifter while he ran off, none of them hitting their target.**

"Holy… I gotta admit, that _was awesome_!" Connor breathed out.

Chris nodded, wide-eyed, "Totally. Dean's got moves."

"Dean?" Connor tilted his head to the side. "Don't you mean the shapeshifter?"

Hermes smiled at his youngest son, "No, Connor. Chris is right. The shapeshifter learned it from Dean. Think of it as muscle memory, son."

The youngest Stoll flushed a pretty pink, flustered yet giddy at his father's kindness and the tender way he addressed him.

 **The shot followed the shapeshifter enter the sewer, the camera zooming in for a moment on a brown rat-**

" _Eugh_! Did we really have to see that?" Katie _literally_ shivered in disgust.

Piper looked amused, "Don't tell me you're scared of rats."

"I'm not _scared_ of them, I just don't like them. They're…. _icky_ ," Katie lamely concluded.

"Am I hearing this correctly?" Athena rhetorically inquired as she stared haughtily down at Aphrodite's spawn. " _You_ , a daughter of Aphrodite, feel at ease around such rodent?"

Two pairs of kaleidoscopic eyes narrowed in on the goddess of wisdom. Piper glowered at one of her best and dearest friend's arrogant mother. "I'm not going to pet one, doesn't mean I'd run off screaming if I encounter a rat. God, can you be any more stereotypical?" she sneered.

"I despise rodents," Aphrodite remarked in disdain before Athena verbally attacked her daughter. "However, I do _adore_ crushing them. Remember _that_ , Athena _dearest_ ," the menacing quality in her seductive drawl had nearly everyone shiver in their spot, her threat received loud and clear if Athena's harsh swallowing was any indication.

On the other hand…"I am so turned on right now," Ares whispered in her ear, his voice low and husky and it did wonderful things to Aphrodite's nether regions. She smirked at him and gave him a lewd wink. "Later," his voice rang with promise, sockets about to emit fire due to his lust.

 **-before focusing on the shapeshifter as he stopped running.** **He looked weak, his arms limp as he slipped off his jacket and then his shirt as he collapsed onto his knees, his face pained. Hands flat on the ground, the sickening sound of bones cracking echoed in the dark space, the camera zooming on one hand as it inflated and deflated, him grunting in pain all the while. He straightened his torso and his ribs inflated as they cracked, followed by his shoulder. Concentrating on his face, his facial muscles contorted and one by one, his teeth fell off, blood spurting and the camera rotated to show his back twist unnaturally. Then, skin started peeling as hands haphazardly started to rip it off, showing the flesh underneath as blood oozed everywhere, piling on the ground as the shapeshifter shakily got onto his feet just as the screen turned black.**

"Di immortales!" this time, it wasn't only the goddesses to breathe out in alarm, Dionysus, Triton, Hermes and Poseidon uttering their shock as well.

Face scrunched in revulsion, Apollo couldn't voice his disgust as he sprung out of his throne and made a quick round of healing the green-faced demigods, who astonishingly managed to hold themselves from producing bile.

"That's just- can we _un-see_ this?" Frank groaned once Apollo's hand was retracted from his forehead, his nausea gone. He no longer feared the chance of ever becoming like that monstrous shapeshifter, partly due to his father's earlier words, but also because of the horrifying scene they were all forced to witness.

Nico weakly suggested, "Field trip to the River Lethe, anybody?"

"I'm in," Clarisse moaned, rubbing her stomach and nestling her face in Chris' chest for much needed comfort.

"That won't work on me," Percy pouted, recalling his previous dip in Lethe. "Bleach it is."

While Poseidon yearned for an explanation to his son's curious remark, he knew now wasn't the time. Besides, he was _almost_ certain Perseus would either deflect or postpone.

Ares shrugged, his voice impassive, "I've seen worse."

"Don't you mean, _you've done_ worse," Athena sharply retorted.

Flaming sockets blankly met her reproaching gaze. "Your point?" he snapped, unbothered by her implication.

The demigods, Rachel and Grover stared at the war god, appalled, with wide eyes and gaping jaws, their nausea building up once more.

 **The camera focused on the Winchesters standing in front of a store window as they watched a news report on the television. "An anonymous tip led the police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T. team discovered a local woman bound and gagged," the reporter broadcasted. "Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home." A sketch of Dean appeared on the screen.**

Frustrated, Percy snapped, "How the Tartarus are they supposed to continue hunting, or simply _live their lives_ , if Dean's gonna be hunted down like a criminal? I _knew_ it was a bad idea!"

"Hmm, yeah. No doubt that's gonna be biting them in the ass," Apollo agreed with a dry chuckle.

"T'was to save that mortal woman's life!" Artemis snapped, her angry orbs burning a hole through Percy.

A lesser man would've backed down or coiled into himself, intimidated at facing the wrath of the formidable goddess of the hunt. But Percy wasn't _any man_ , or even a normal demigod. "And think of the countless men, women and children they'll be hindered from saving and protecting to the best of their ability because of this," he retorted heatedly.

Taken aback, Artemis opened her mouth, only for it to snap shut, rendered speechless.

"Perseus does have a point," Demeter cautiously declared.

 **"** **Man! That's not even a good picture," Dean whined.**

Thalia snorted, amused. "Of course _that's_ what he's worried about."

 **While Sam cautiously checked their surroundings, Liv snapped, "** ** _Seriously, Dean_** **!"**

 **The scene then forwarded; the trio were walking down an alley when Sam suddenly said, "They said attempted murder. At least we know–"**

 **"** **I didn't kill her," Dean finished. Liv smacked his shoulder, and snappishly corrected him, "The** ** _shifter_** **didn't kill her."**

 **"** **We'll check Rebecca in the morning, see if she's alright," Sam informed them.**

"Something tells me she won't want to be around Dean," Jason mentioned.

Leo rolled his eyes, "Ya don't say."

"You know what I mean!" the son of Jupiter huffed, his lips quirking in a small smile.

 **"** **All right, but first I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him," Dean snarled, his comment halting Sam and Liv in their paths.**

Rachel shook her head, horrified at her sudden epiphany, "The shapeshifter won't be easy to find. He shed his skin! He's not Dean anymore, meaning-"

"He could be anyone," Hecate interjected, disturbed.

"That's just _perfect_ ," Travis commented, his tone bleeding with sarcasm.

 **"** **We have no weapons. No silver bullets," Sam reminded him.**

 **Dean didn't budge, his face set on determination, "Sam, the guy's walkin' around with my face,** ** _okay_** **, and he beat the crap out of Liv! It's** ** _a lot_** **personal, I wanna find him."**

 **"** **Fill him up with silver," Liv spat out, carefully brushing her swollen cheek. She winced at the pain, prompting Dean to grasp her hand and pull it away, giving her a warning look. Sam sighed in defeat, "Where do we look?"**

 **"** **Well, we could start with the sewers," Dean suggested.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, I don't I'm ever gonna be able to think about sewers the same way again, not without the vivid image of the shapeshifter shedding his skin infiltrating my head on repeat," Piper groaned, her expression mirroring her mother's.

"I'd rather they sleep it off, search for the brute tomorrow," Hera fretted.

Artemis, ever the practical huntress, firmly shook her head, "But then they'll lose the monster's trail. I believe it best to track him now so they can get a good look at his new face."

"Samuel mentioned they have no weapons," Hermes reminded her.

The war god gruffly snapped, "They can make makeshift weapons."

 **"** **We have** ** _no weapons_** **," Sam huffed yet again. "He stole our guns, we need more."**

 **Rubbing the unharmed side of her face, Liv sighed, "He didn't just steal our weapons, he stole the car, which, I bet he used it to get to Rebecca's. But, since the news mentioned he fled on foot, the Impala's probably still there."**

 **Dean looked upset, "The thought of him drivin' my car…" He trailed off, annoyed.**

"World War III'd break out if some punk put their grubby hands anywhere near my Chariot," Ares growled at the mere thought.

Percy and Clarisse looked at each other, a hint of a smile on their face as they recalled the incident where Phobos and Deimos stole Ares' Chariot from right under her nose.

Apollo nodded wholeheartedly, "Yeah, same here. Except I'd spread a new epidemic of typhoid, or an epizootic."

"Men and their cars," Rachel sighed with a small shake of her head, eyes rolling halfheartedly.

 **"** **All right, come on," Sam cut in. The three of them started walking and Dean continued his line of thoughts, "It's** ** _killin'_** **me."**

 **Sam rolled his eyes, "Let it go."**

"He doesn't _have_ a car. Of course he'd say that," Apollo loudly and quite childishly, complained.

Artemis sent him a small glare, "Now it's your turn to _let it go_."

"Oh _please_ , you little hypocrite," Apollo stuck his tongue out at her. Mirthful eyes then focused on the amused demigods as he stage-whispered, "Do you know the last time somebody admired her chariot, he ended up missing a hand."

The goddess of the hunt let out a noise that was sounded like a squawk and a huff of protest. "I only did that because of his gender," she indignantly proclaimed.

Smirking, Apollo said, "Keep saying that, Artie."

" _Artemis_!" she hissed.

Laughter ensued.

 **The scene cut to the exterior of Rebecca's house. The trio stealthily made their way to the side of the house where the Impala was parked and Dean looked immensely relieved. "Oh, there she is! Finally,** ** _something_** **went right tonight." The words barely escaped him when a police car parked right next to the Impala.**

"He jinxed it," Percy groaned.

Athena huffed, "I find myself amazed at the amount of asinine remarks that continue to come out of your mouth, boy."

"Funny," Poseidon cut in, using a tone of forced calm. "I usually think the same of you."

Grey orbs pierced him, " _Why you_ –"

"That's quite enough," Hestia firmly spoke up, silencing her with a stern look.

 **"** **I swear Lady Luck's a bitch," Liv grumbled under her breath.**

Hermes winced, "Ooh, Tyche's not gonna like that."

"She'll probably curse them with _more_ bad luck," Hecate sadly contributed.

 **They turned around, only to see another police car parked a few yards away.**

Hermes clucked his tongue, "I'm guessing Tyche got offended and that's her form of retaliation."

 **Dean urged Sam and Liv towards a fence, "This way, this way."**

 **"** **You guys go. I'll hold 'em off," Sam proposed. Dean gave him an 'are you kidding me' look, "What are you talking about? They'll catch you."**

 **Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sam hurriedly said, "Look, they can't hold me. Just go, keep out of sight. Meet me at Rebecca's." Giving Sam a look of caution, Dean signaled Liv to go first. Once she expertly climbed over the fence and ushered Dean over, Sam put a hand on his chest, stopping him. "Dean, stay** ** _out_** **of the sewers." Dean kept quiet and he jumped over the fence, joining Liv. "** ** _I mean it_** **," Sam hissed after them.**

 **"** **Yeah, yeah!" Dean called over his shoulder.**

"You think Dean's being honest?" Percy asked the room in general.

Scoffs of disbelief promptly emanated from Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, the Stolls and Clarisse, and in unison, they replied, " _No_."

"One'd think with Liv there, she'd act as Dean's voice of reason, but…" Connor trailed off, a smirk on his face.

Finishing his sentence, Leo laughed, " _But_! Liv's gonna be gunning for revenge. She'd be all for it."

"So would I if some asshole used my face as a soccer ball," Clarisse grimaced.

 **They barely vanished from sight when a police officer appeared out of nowhere, gun aimed at Sam, "Don't move! Keep your hands where I can see 'em." Sam's hands immediately went up.**

 **Alternating back to the Impala, Dean and Liv could be seen getting weapons from the trunk.**

"Called it!" Annabeth, Leo, Jason, Piper, the Stolls and Clarisse victoriously exclaimed.

A pinched expression materialized on Ares' face; torn between wanting more action and wanting them to remain safe.

 **"** **Listen up, Liv. You stay near me and-"**

 **An annoyed growl escaped her, "Like I said before, Dean. This** ** _isn't_** **my first rodeo and you know that. Don't you start with me!" The camera then focused on Dean's worried face just as the scene morphed into the sewer. The duo could be seen looking around, coming across a chamber filled with candles and chains, piles of skin and blood littered on the floor.**

Cue looks of disgust and squeals of horror.

 **A noise could be heard and after exchanging looks of determination, they moved forward, guns in hand. A figure could be seen covered with a sheet and Dean removed it, uncovering a terrified and bloodied and** ** _very familiar_** **blonde, her hands and feet bound together with rope.**

 **"** **Rebecca?" Dean and Liv intoned.**

"O.M.G!" Rachel shrieked, both hands cupping her gaping mouth.

"That-that _can't_ be!" Hazel spluttered in indignation. "When did the shapeshifter have time to grab her, take her to the sewer, and get back to Rebecca's house, all while the police kept watch over her!?"

Worked up, Aphrodite cussed, " _Merde_! C'est impossible…"

"My guess would be when she was admitted to the hospital," Zeus surprised the demigods with his contribution. Shifting in his throne, he impassively continued, "I doubt the security is adequate enough to keep her in sight at all times. This abomination must have grabbed her from there and returned wearing her face, leaving the police none the wiser."

Apollo inclined his head, "That'd be my guess as well."

"So… to sum it up, Sam's alone with the shapeshifter, thinking it's in the sewer. _Fantastique_!" Aphrodite snarled, her anger more pronounced as she shifted from English to French and back again.

Sighing, Ares placed an arm over her, "It'll be all right, Affie. You'll see."

 **Back in Rebecca's living room, Sam and the shapeshifter were enjoying beer together.**

 **"** **So, say this shapeshifter is real. By the way,** ** _you know_** **you're crazy? But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?" the shapeshifter inquired as she replaced his empty bottle of beer with a new one.**

"Damn, she's good," Katie moaned, fear heavy on her features.

Cocking her head to the side, Rachel asked, "I'm so confused here. One minute he's a 'he' then he's a 'she'. Do we call it ' _shim_ ' or what?"

Hera rolled her eyes, impatient for them to take their leave for dinner and allow her respite from their inconsequential blathering.

Eyes fond, Demeter giggled, "Dear, best call it by its chosen gender, less complicated, don't you think?"

 **Thanking her, he replied, "Silver bullet to the heart."**

 **The shapeshifter chuckled, "You are** ** _crazy_** **." All of a sudden, she hit him over the head with the empty bottle and he fell over, unconscious. Her eyes momentarily glowed silver-gold and the scene cut back to the sewer.**

Dionysus blinked, "I must admit…that was unexpected."

"Mother Efing- _arghh_!" Rachel grumbled, her fisted hands beating the floor in irritation.

The son of Poseidon groaned, "It seems the shapeshifter got tired of all the pretense."

 **"** **What happened?" Dean asked as he untied Rebecca while Liv pulled out the water bottle from before and offered it to her, who immediately chugged it down. Crying hysterically, she informed them, "I was walking home, and everything just went white. Someone hit me over the head, and I wound up here just in time to see that** ** _thing_** **turn into me. I don't know,** ** _how_** **is that even possible?"**

The sun god arranged his face into a mock pout, "Awh, shucks. Guess we're both wrong, Dad."

Maintaining his silence, the King of Olympus simply rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"The poor dear's been through so much," Hestia fussed, imitating a mother-hen.

"Bright side? Now that she knows the truth, she won't press charges against Dean." Annabeth pointed out.

Rachel however, immediately shot her down, "It won't matter. S.W.A.T. _saw_ him-, her… _ugh_ , you know what I mean. And besides, the shapeshifter attacked an officer, there's absolutely _no way_ he'll get off scot-free."

 **Kindly, yet curtly, Liv helped Rebecca up and asked, "Can you walk?" She nodded. Looking at Dean, fear vivid in her eyes, Liv said, "Good because we've got to hurry. Sam went to see you."**

 **Alternating back to Rebecca's house, the shapeshifter was back to imitating Dean. Sam's hands and feet were bound as he lay sprawled on the ground on his back, and the shapeshifter was walking around the kitchen.**

"Kill him while wearing his brother's face. Definitely psychotic," Thalia snarled.

Aphrodite flicked her glare onto the daughter of Zeus and snapped, a sharp edge in her tone, "Nobody's killing Sam!"

 **Sam grunted as he tried to get out of his binds, "What are you gonna do to me?"**

 **"** **Oh, I'm not gonna do anything.** ** _Dean_** **will, though," he smarmily responded.**

 **"** **They'll never catch him," Sam confidently shot back.**

 **The shapeshifter shrugged, seemingly unconcerned as his eyes flashed a silver-gold, "Oh, doesn't matter. Murder in the first of his own brother? He'll be hunted for the rest of his life." He picked up a sharp knife and examined it. The scene forwarded. "I must say, I will be sorry to lose this skin. Your brother's got a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do. Cheers." He poured himself a drink, took a sip then put it down. Picking up the knife he stabbed it into the edge of a pool table.**

"That knife looks really sharp," Hazel murmured, moving closer to Frank.

The son of Poseidon shook his head, sickened, "It's disturbing how _casual_ the shapeshifter is. It's so… _eerie._ "

"C'mon, Sam. Do _something_. _Anything_!" Clarisse cried out.

Hades sighed, "Relax. Samuel's end has yet to come."

Leo blinked at him in awe, "Right. Lord of the Dead. _Gotcha_."

Amused, a ghost of a smile could be seen on Hades' face, "I'm afraid not, child. I have control over the dead, not the _living_. I am merely applying common sense."

"My idea sounded cooler though," the son of Hephaestus sighed in disappointment.

 **Letting out a grunt, Sam lifted his bound legs and kicked the shapeshifter, prompting him to fall to the ground. Quickly sitting up and reaching forward, Sam positioned his hands onto the blade of the knife, cutting himself free, and swiftly grabbed it as the shapeshifter got up.**

"YES!"

Tumultuous applause and sighs of relief ensued.

 **Sam took a swing at him, only for his hand to be grabbed and twisted.**

"Olivia attacked him similarly," Athena pointedly remarked. "And the shapeshifter blocked her hit, again _similarly_."

Artemis frowned, "They must be wary when utilizing that certain move, then. That way, no other opponent could intercept and put them at a disadvantage."

 **Falling to the ground, Sam quickly recovered his balance. Sneering at him, the shapeshifter snarled, "Oh, you son of a bitch."**

 **The two engaged in an intense fight, fists flying around. Attempting to pin the shapeshifter down against a table, he said, "Not bad, little brother."**

 **Gritting his teeth, Sam snarled, "You're** ** _not_** **him." and they continued fighting. The shapeshifter succeeded in throwing Sam into a** **bookshelf** **and as he slid to the ground, books fell on top of him.**

" _Oohh_!" Percy winced, rubbing his back as though he could feel Sam's pain. "That must've hurt."

Nico rolled his eyes and fondly said, "You could walk that off, no problem."

"Yeah," Annabeth smirked, meeting Nico's dark orbs and winking. "The number of times you've been thrown around, _whew_ , if I had a drachma for every time that's happened, we'd all be millionaires."

Percy pouted, "I resent that!"

"I don't want to know, do I?" Poseidon groaned into his palms.

He was met with laughter and an indignant ' _hey_ ' from his mortal son.

 **"** **Even when we were kids, I always kicked your ass. Hell, even** ** _Ollie_** **gave you a run for your money. Speaking of, I've still got a score to settle with her once I'm done here. No rush," the shapeshifter smirked. Grabbing a pool cue, he swung it at Sam, who ducked, and it smashed into a light fixture that hung over the pool table. Letting out a bellow of anger, Sam lunged at him and the two traded blows until they both landed on a coffee table. The shapeshifter pinned Sam down, punched him twice in the face and started choking him.**

"No!" Rachel yelled.

On the other hand, Ares eagerly observed the brawl, admiring both their moves and fighting stance while mentally critiquing them a couple of times. He made sure, however, to block his mood from everyone, especially his thoughts from Aphrodite, who would blow a gasket.

 **"** **HEY!" Dean bellowed from the doorway. The shapeshifter stood up to face him and Liv, both of whom had their guns raised and fierce expressions on their face. Liv, not taking her eyes off the shapeshifter and keeping her gun steady, rushed over to Sam's side protectively while Dean inched closer. Dean fired his gun, shooting three bullets into the shapeshifter who fell backwards into a mirror and landed on the ground, dead.**

"FINALLY!" Percy, Jason, Frank, Rachel, Piper, Leo, the Stolls, Clarisse, Nico, Thalia and Chris cheerfully exclaimed.

Will shook his head, "This hunt was a nightmare."

"Isn't it like, bad luck, to kill you Doppelgänger?" Katie hesitantly piped up.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "That's just a myth, Katie."

"All myths must have a basis. They must come from somewhere, Annabeth. Don't be too quick to judge," Apollo kindly informed her. "I'm sure if you tell anyone your mother is the Greek goddess Athena, they'd laugh in your face and send you to a psychiatric hospital, eh?" he winked.

She ducked her head sheepishly.

"And besides," Apollo turned his attention to Katie. "Dean killed a shapeshifter, so he's safe from bad omens."

Grudgingly, Ares appraised the situation, "It was a great shot."

"Him, he offers a compliment," Hermes snarled to himself.

 **"** **You okay, Sammy?" Liv asked in concern as Rebecca rushed inside and joined Sam's side. Meanwhile, Dean walked over to the dead shapeshifter and yanked his necklace off his neck and the screen went black.**

 **The scene opened on the exterior of Rebecca's house and it was daytime. Dean and Liv stood by the Impala, crowded over a map.**

"Oh Styx!" Annabeth gasped, her wide orbs locked onto the ugly, purple bruise on Liv's face.

Will offered her and the other demigods, who were staring at Liv in horror, a comforting smile, "A week to ten days tops, and it'll fade."

"Yeah, but it's gotta hurt like a bitch," Leo pointed out.

Hera scowled at the boy she used to babysit, "Language young man!"

She then glared pointedly at Hephaestus to _say something_ , but he simply grunted and ignored her, much to Ares' amusement.

 **The camera then focused on Rebecca and Sam as they walked out the front door. She turned to Sam with a smile, "So, this is what you do? You and your brother and cousin – you hunt down these kinds of things?"**

 **He shrugged, "Yeah, pretty much."**

 **She shook her head in amazement, "I can't believe it. I mean, I** ** _saw it_** **with my own eyes. And, I mean, does everybody at school-" she cut herself off in realization. "Nobody knows that you do this?"**

"Obviously not," Dionysus scoffed.

Hecate made a clucking sound, "Can you imagine what would occur if the world knew? Utter chaos! No, it's best the numbers be kept to a minimum."

"Life would be easier though, for the Winchesters," Rachel couldn't help but point out.

Triton abruptly shook his head, "Depends on how you look at it. Not everyone would see it your way. As a clear sighted mortal, you had time to ease yourself into this type of life. You were glad you weren't imagining things or going crazy, but others… think of the witch trials, but worse."

Rachel grimaced, grudgingly seeing his point.

 **"** **Did Jessica know?" she then asked after Sam replied in negative. Sam sighed and once again, replied in negative. "Must be lonely," Rebecca remarked sadly.**

 **Sam glanced at Dean and Liv, watching them with a fond smile as Liv laughed at something Dean said, prompting Dean to ruffle her hair. Smiling at Rebecca, he said, "Oh, no. No, it's not so bad. Anyway, what can I do? It's my family."**

 **"** **Well, you know, Zach and me, and everybody at school, we really miss you," she embraced him and as they pulled away, Sam sadly nodded, "Yeah, me too."**

"I feel for the guy. I mean, it can't be easy, abandoning his friends and the life he built for himself in Stanford," Annabeth hesitantly commented.

And just as she expected, Percy scowled at her, "Yeah, well, he abandoned his family. He should get used to it."

The daughter of Athena rolled her eyes, "Gods, you're _soo_ stubborn."

"No, I appreciate family, there's a difference," he retorted.

Thalia and Nico traded looks with Annabeth before all three of them intoned, "Definitely stubborn."

" _Hey_!" he yelped, indignant.

 **"** **Well, will you call sometime?" Rebecca asked hopefully. Sam smiled and nodded, "It might not be for a little while." She nodded, waved goodbye to Dean and Liv – both of whom waved back – and retreated into her house.**

"Something tells me Rebecca will never hear from Sam again," Rachel mused out loud. She then sharply looked at Leo, who had his mouth open, and said, "And _no_ , Leo, _not_ a prediction. Just intuition."

He huffed, pouted and looked away.

"Goofball," Piper laughed fondly, ruffling Leo's shaggy hair.

 **As Sam joined them by the car, Dean asked, "So, what about your friend, Zach?"**

 **The corner of Sam's lip quirked in a smile, "Cops are blamin' this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder. They found the murder weapon in the guy's lair, Zach's clothes stained with her blood. Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Yeah, Becca says Zach will be released soon." Dean rolled his eyes and got into the car.**

 **"** **How** ** _convenient_** **," Liv sarcastically quipped. Just as she was about to get in the backseat, Sam stopped her.**

 **"** **Oh, and Liv.** ** _I told you so_** **," he grinned smugly. Groaning playfully, Liv rolled her eyes, "Alright, I guess I deserve that."**

"Couldn't let that one go," Jason laughed.

Clarisse scoffed lightly, "Oh please, I've been waiting for him to say it since the shapeshifter first revealed itself."

"I wouldn't have waited that long," Connor grinned.

 **The camera focused on the Impala as it drove down a road, before zooming in on the interior where Dean was apologizing to Sam. "I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you could just be…Joe College."**

 **Sam gave him a tight-lipped smile, "No, that's okay. You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in."**

"I get the feeling," Percy commiserated. "Whenever I leave Camp Half-Blood and go to school, surrounded by normal people, I get the same feeling, like I don't belong."

Annabeth bumped shoulders with him, "Same here."

"I can definitely agree to that," Piper crowed, raising her hand in a toasting gesture.

Leo nodded fervently.

The godly parents of the aforementioned gods looked unhappy and…sad at their admission.

 **"** **Well, that's 'cause you're a freak," Dean grinned.**

 **Liv leaned forward, propping both elbows on their armrest, "Hey, count me in. I'm also a freak."**

"Such an endearing child," Aphrodite cooed.

Demeter shook her head as though in realization, "We forget that she _is_ a child. She's sixteen-years-old. And frankly put, her life is a life plucked out of a child's nightmares."

"I don't think she ever had a chance to enjoy a regular childhood," Persephone remarked, her eyes glum.

Ares fidgeted uncomfortably, his face fixed in a stone-cold mask as the three goddesses wept for the runt.

 **Dean laughed, "And I'm a freak, too…You know, I gotta say, I'm sorry I'm gonna miss it."**

 **"** **Miss what?" Sam and Liv intoned.**

 **A shit-eating grin appeared on Dean's face, "How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?" The Winchesters smiled at each other as the screen faded to blackness.**

"That should definitely be in the Bucket List of Miracles," Rachel giggled.

"You know, gotta admit, the shapeshifter's nifty ability at least did _some good_ ," Apollo suddenly commented. "It died as Dean, _ergo_ , the hunt for Dean Winchester died with him."

Laughter ensued.

"I really want to know _how_ that's possible," Annabeth, ever the scholar, breathed out in curiosity.

Smiling warmly at the blonde, Hestia stood up, "How about we ponder over that later, hmm? It's time for dinner, so children, please wash your hands and meet us in the dining hall."

 **A/N:** **Wow! This chapter took me a week and a half to complete and I'm** ** _exhausted_** **!**

 **I was** ** _reallyy_** **paranoid while writing this chapter and, now that it's done, I'm like, on tenterhooks, to see if you all approve of it since this is an introduction to Shapeshifters. Since the gods have the ability to transform themselves** ** _and_** **Frank Zhang is a shapeshifter (albeit only into animals – which is** ** _so_** **awesome), I made this episode sort of an emotional one, especially for poor Frank. I mean, it's only natural he'd flip out.**

 **I hope my introduction of Shapeshifters was a success, and I'm patiently waiting for your opinion! XD**

 **Also: ****I've got a Question, if anyone would like to help me out: So, one thing I'm having a problem with is, keeping up with the timeline. I tried calculating what the date would be, but after the Wendigo episode, I've been in the dark. I just want to know if it's 2006 yet in SPN at this point… or are we in November…December? I'd** ** _really_** **appreciate it if somebody'd let me know.**

 **o**

 **Celebrity Faces:**

 **Last chapter, I mentioned a certain Poll… ;)**

 **The results are in and –** ** _surprise, surprise_** **–** **Apollo had the most votes. However, since the votes for the second character was inconsistent, I'm gonna chose Artemis, let our favorite twin archers be paired together! XD**

 **One: ****Apollo… to be perfectly honest, the way the Sun God's described and all, I don't think** ** _anyone_** **fits the bill, but, if I'd have to pick a gorgeous celebrity, then I'd go with…**

 **…** **SCOTT EASTWOOD!**

 **Just, imagine him with golden-hair, and brighter blue eyes, and well… like I said, no one could ever resemble Apollo, but, yeah… okay, rambling now. Just picture Scott Eastwood sharing Apollo's** ** _otherworldly godly_** **assets ;) and we're gold!**

 **Two: ****Artemis! Our favorite virgin and badass huntress… Katherine McNamara!**

 **I can** ** _soo_** **picture Katherine as Artemis, and, after seeing her appearance for Shadowhunters, you know, with the outfit and the RED HAIR… my mind couldn't be swayed. Plus, she kind of has a baby face, and we all know how much Artemis loves taking the shape of a young girl.**

 **Well, that's all for** **Celebrity Faces** **!** **Hope y'all approved and if not, well… everyone's entitled of their own opinion and you're all free to imagine them the way you** ** _want to_** **imagine them.**

 **o**

 **There's a couple of things I'd like to discuss so bear with my ramblings or,** ** _you know_** **, just skip it (** **but** **, reading this would help clear out the air –** ** _just saying_** **;)…)**

 **About Olivia:**

 **Some of you might have, while reading this chapter – and maybe even the previous ones, been like "** ** _What the f*** is wrong with Liv?_** **"** **OR** **"** ** _Why's she so angry all the time…?"_** **OR** **"** ** _Wow, Liv's a bitch!_** **"**

 **Yeah, I've said it before, Olivia's a daughter of Ares, and we all know the temper associated with Ares and his children; take Clarisse for example, not exactly the most welcoming camper and all, am I right? Yes, during the story, we'll see Liv go through a roller coaster of emotions, most especially anger, annoyance, impatience maybe, and whatever else you associate with Ares, so yeah, some of you may attribute Olivia's** ** _charming_** **mood from last chapter onwards, to her just "** ** _being a daughter of Ares_** **"** **, especially the anger she projected onto Charlie (from last chapter) and Rebecca (in this chapter).**

 **Well, you're half-correct. Her moodiness is a child of Ares aspect, but not completely. The truth is, something is going on with Olivia, (** ** _kinda, not really, spoilers_** **) something that she is adamant Dean and Sam** ** _do not_** **, under any circumstance, find out. It'll be revealed, I don't know when, but definitely by the Episode** ** _Home_** **. All I can say is, it is something related to her being a demigod, you're free to guess, though, but I won't be spoiling the surprise. ;)**

 **About Ares:**

 **He's at war with himself regarding Olivia. That's not gonna change for the foreseeable future. I don't have an exact timeline when he'll change and accept her, but it's not for a while. I'm honestly surprised nobody's realized WHY he hates Olivia so much, not that I'm in any rush to spoil the surprise. LOL! I know, I'm evil.**

 **However, I showed the soft side to Ares, the soft side Rick Riordan never portrayed. My favorite part, the part I enjoyed writing, was his heart-to-heart with Frank. I hope I blew your minds away, 'cause it's something I really enjoy doing. Honestly, I believe Ares has so much potential, and so many hidden qualities, so many masks to unveil and bit by bit, I'm gonna dissect the God of War and reveal all his hidden layers, leaving him bare to the world. ;)**

 **About Aphrodite:**

 **If anyone noticed the little hint I provided, she's starting to realize that something isn't right with Olivia in regards to her volatile temper. That's another little clue I inserted regarding the plot-twist I have in store for Olivia Winchester.**

 **And that's all I've got to say on this topic.**

 **A/N: ****Keane was brought up again. AND YES! A boyfriend?** ** _What_** **? Was the shapeshifter speaking the truth? I mean, he said a lot of things to Olivia regarding Dean (which by the way, took a lot out of me, it was so emotional and just** ** _wow!_** **). In this chapter, I portrayed the strong bond Dean and Liv share, which is very important to future chapters, especially his initial feelings about her. When did it change? It'll be explained in another episode. You'll know when.**

 ** _However_** **, hints were provided: when Dean slipped up when he said "** ** _Them_** **"** **and when the shapeshifter mentioned a "** ** _boyfriend_** **"** **. My aim is to keep you on your toes, drowning in suspense… ;)**

 **o**

 **I'm still debating…** **spoiler** **for the next chapter?**

 **I might be,** ** _MIGHT BE_** **, introducing an OC, one that plays an important role in my version of Supernatural. I'm not a 100% certain the OC will make an appearance yet, I'm still playing with the idea, since it wasn't planned until Season Two. So, still debating but both cases, the OC has a part to play and will either show up next chapter or, like I initially planned, the second season.**

 **o**

 **To** ** _all_** **my Lovely,** ** _Lovely_** **Reviewers,** ** _thank you_** **for all your wonderful and inspiring comments!**

 **To** **Karen0610** **: If you're talking about Charlie Bradbury and not the Charlie from the Bloody Mary episode, then hell yes she'll be included. And they'll definitely hit it off seeing as Charlie is a very likeable character. ;)**

 **To** **MakeYourBodyaCanvas** **: While I have** ** _absolutely_** **no problem with same-sex relationships, I mean no judgment whatsoever XD,** ** _buuut_** **Olivia is 100% straight. I already have a couple of solid notes about her future relationships and they're set in stone until at least Season 6. So… yeah! :)**

 **To** **Krislyngera** **: Yes, exactly,** ** _Thank You_** **! The entire Benny-debacle** ** _pissed me off_** **. I honestly felt bad for the vamp and hated the fact that he sacrificed himself for Sam. You can't even compare Benny to Ruby and Sam had the** ** _gall_** **to chastise Dean for his friendship with someone that** ** _actually_** **was more like a brother to him at that certain point in their life than Sam was.**

 **To** **JoySalvatore1** **: Hmm, to tell you the truth, I adore Logan Lerman and as for now, that's who I'm imagining Percy Jackson as.** ** _But_** **, that's definitely gonna change. I want to make my own face claims for everyone, meaning Luke, Annabeth, Grover, Percy, they're all gonna get different face claims, but that's only until I come up with one. Only Poseidon remained the same, mostly 'cause I love Kevin McKidd and adored him as the gorgeously winsome Sea God! ;) and… I don't really see Dylan O'Brien as Percy, I just** ** _can't_** **see it *sigh*. And a little spoiler for you, Henry Cavill's already reserved for another character, one that won't physically make an appearance for quite a long while…**

 **To** **DaughterofMagic3** **: I'm SO glad, I really put a lot of thought into Olivia and you can't believe how glad I am she didn't end up a Mary-Sue! (Btw, I, myself struggle with my other OCs, so I get how you feel and how, at times, it can be so frustrating)**

 **To** **Guest** **: "** ** _In supernatural both Sam and Dean died a lot and were brought back, will Liv ever die? If she does would she not go to the underworld or would Chuck change that?_** **" –** **Okay, I'm gonna be vague, because, like I've mentioned before, I hate giving out major spoilers. It's sort of become a morbid Winchester tradition to die, all I can say is, Liv won't be an exception.** ** _Also_** **…** **regarding the entire Underworld/Heaven/Hell topic, it's very complicated and there's a background to the final resting place. I can't go into details, just know that, there's a plot-twist about that and a background I've created that changes** ** _a lot_** **.**

 **To** **Guest** **: "** ** _Love this so much. I have a question though is Liv going to have a lover soon and is she a virgin still?_** **" –** **First of all, I'm thrilled you love my story. Second, this chapter has already hinted a past lover of Liv's, regarding her virginity – I know y'all probably despise this word but:** ** _Spoilers_** **!**

 **To** **alexavier** **: This isn't a SPN/TVD crossover, LOL, so no, if you're thinking Keane's a relative to a certain Bonnie Bennett, the answer is no, seeing as she doesn't exist in this universe. It's just a random last name I thought suited the name Keane. OMG, Vanir… honestly, what I'm really looking forward to, is the introduction of the** **Carrigan's, that's gonna be one confrontation you need to look out for ;)! Trust me, you're not the first one to be disappointed once I revealed Adam and Luke are gonna be two different characters, but… I really am sorry, that's a complete divergent from the entire plot of this story. Sorry… :)/Liv, like Dean and Sam, will have her fair share of relationships. I won't be saying who, but I'm positive a lot of my readers will approve ;)**

 **To** **Orion Prime** **: I know, I'm psyched for Gabriel's introduction! It's Mercury and he appears in Season 5 in the creeptacular hotel, LOL. I have an entire background for the Pagans that differs them from the gods, THAT'S an explanation for another time, most probably when Vanir shows up or the Carrigans in the next season, I'm still undecided. About the Benders, while the gods** ** _will_** **be horrified 'cause that's seriously one creepy family, it won't be much of a shock to them as it will be for the demigods, especially Rachel.**

 **To** **LadyScatty** **: I want Hephaestus to interact more, but it's still too soon. If I do it right away, he'll end up OOC real quick, so I'm slowly easing him into a becoming a more interactive character (as you can see, I attempted that in this chapter during the altercation that occurred). Yeah, Rachel is the most open-minded one since that's part of her personality – she doesn't really base her opinions on facts and experiences and is more open to many possibilities. Oooh, Liv was a lot snarky and showed a few good moves but unfortunately, Ares dissed her** ** _a lot_** **in this chapter, :(, I know, very sad, I hated to do it. BUT, there was progress if you noticed his subtle overprotectiveness./Yeah, like, in my opinion, Rick Riordan** ** _really_** **downplayed Ares and Aphrodite, A LOT! While the gods were battling Typhon, Ares and Aphrodite were two of the gods that remained in the fight and prevailed, but** ** _nope_** **, nobody bothers to look deeper into that tidbit of knowledge. I'm playing around with Athena, Hera and Artemis, while Artemis is portrayed in both, a good and bad light, Athena and Hera are not – I don't know if that'll change anytime soon, but for now, I'm having fun with their villainy attitude.**

 **To** **ricebunny88** **: Thank you for your comment, XD, it's a real energy booster when I get new reviewers who actually enjoy my writing, so thank you! For now, the story revolves around the Olympians and demigods watching Supernatural. I plan on having them meet, but if that happens, it's not for a very,** ** _very_** **, VERY long time, and so is Sam and Dean's reaction to her being a demigod…**

 **To** **Tayzza6966** **: I'm glad you like my portrayal of Apollo, I too agree, everyone makes the mistake of thinking he's just a player and lady's man with a zero I.Q. when, Apollo** ** _IS_** **one of the most powerful children of Zeus and an extremely powerful god in general.**

 **R &R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended**

 **A/N:** **Olivia Winchester – Victoria Justice.**

 **Chapter 7:**

The demigods were unanimous in their certitude: while dinner with the gods had an atmosphere impregnated with slight tension and strained conversation, it was _thankfully_ , less awkward than lunch and, while conversation didn't occur as naturally as it did in the future, it wasn't stilted or forced but of an evasive nature. The gods were not used to having their wants denied or faced with outright disobedience from their mortal children, but with the Fates as their benefactors, all the gods could do, is practice patience. The threat of getting smote no longer held power as they would then face the Fates' wrath; furthermore, the gods couldn't harm their child or risk angering said demigod's respective godly parent.

During the entirety of the lavish banquet, Poseidon attempted, _many times_ , to catch Percy's eye; unfortunately, his son was unforthcoming when it came to divulging the dangerous aspects of the future, such as his quest to the _Underworld_ of all places, the uncommon monsters he encountered, his stint in _Tartarus!_ , and the list of gods who _dared_ threaten _his son_ with death and/or bodily harm as, according to Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase, Perseus had a knack for " _pissing off the gods_ ". Also, the Sea God yearned to comprehend _how exactly_ the Great Prophecy had come to pass, Percy's role in it – because there was no denying that Percy _wasn't_ involved, Zeus would not offer any demigod, especially _a son of_ _the sea_ , immortality. Percy smartly avoided his many transparent attempts of capturing his attention and kept his eyes peeled on his plate. Sighing forlornly, Poseidon was desperate for information; he'd settle for simply about this 'Smelly Gabe' and leave the more important topics that affected them all for whenever his son decided to be communicative. Alas, Poseidon decided to utilize patience and allow Perseus his privacy, let _him_ approach when he deems it fit.

Hades shared his brother's desideratum for answers, and while he exhibited more subtlety than Poseidon, Nico and Hazel would have to be blind not to notice the Lord of the Underworld's intense and penetrating gaze he incessantly fixated them with. For now, he decided to put aside the baffling and inexplicable revelation of demons, unsummoned ghosts and the probable existence of _Hell_ , to concentrate on the conundrum his children were obnubilated in, their mere _presence_ and Bianca's mystifying absence obscure. The demigods' recent slip up in regards to the Great Prophecy was a great aid, allowing Hades to come to the conclusion that in the future, _he_ sanctioned Bianca and Nico's release from the Lotus Hotel  & Casino in the hopes that either one of them might one day become " _the child of the eldest gods_ " that the Prophecy referred to. He had never known Nico to be without Bianca, and that terrifying suspicion overwhelmed him with grief, but he stubbornly chose to remain in denial and hope that Bianca wasn't deceased and that the Fates simply chose to omit her from the mission, perchance due to the fact that she hadn't been a major player in future events unlike Nico. Hazel, his Roman daughter, produced a myriad of questions and absolutely no answers, and try as he might, he couldn't decipher that particular puzzle piece.

On the other hand, Aphrodite sat ruminating on, not her mortal child like the other gods were cogitating about, but Clarisse La Rue, the daughter of her one true love. The love goddess felt some sort of an obligation to repair, or at least _build_ , the father-daughter bond. While she understood the importance of the many masks her lover religiously wore, Aphrodite loathed the various adverse opinions everyone, even _Homer_ , thought of him, painting him as a hotheaded and heartless villain who thirsts for naught but war and bloodshed. … _Fools_ , she thought acerbically. As _the_ Goddess of Love, Aphrodite would _never_ have fallen in love with, or wasted millennia on Ares, if he held naught but hate in his heart, body, mind and soul.

Suddenly, the back of Ares' fingers brushed her high cheekbone, the tenderness of his touch prompting her kaleidoscopic eyes to morph from a dark navy blue to a more lighter shade resembling the sky during a bright, sunny and cloudless day. "Affie, your mind's somewhere far away," he stated in his husky voice. Blinking, her eyes flickered back and forth, realizing only her and Ares remained in the dining hall and she gave her lover a questioning look. "Told 'em we'll catch up. You barely said a word through dinner, that's _very_ unlike you," his large hands settled on her arms, caressing them. Aphrodite smiled; translation: he was concerned.

Brushing her lips against his prominent cheek, she gracefully stood, Ares following her movements, and said, "I have a little errand to run, my love. I'll meet you in the Throne Room."

"You want to meddle," Ares effortlessly translated, an eyebrow arched in amusement.

Parting him with a tinkling laugh and a cheeky wink, Aphrodite sashayed to the largest guest chamber assigned to the demigods, only stopping once she reached the door that had been left ajar, the children congregated in the communal living room. Knocking lightly on the open door, Aphrodite beamed at them, her eyes lingering on Clarisse, "I was hoping to have to have a word with Clarisse. You don't mind, do you, dear?"

All eyes were on the daughter of Ares, shocked surprise the main emotion on her features. Slowly, she inclined her head in agreement, knowing that while Aphrodite posed the question in a polite way that gave her the option to refuse, in all actuality, it was a demand and that she was expected to obey.

"Lovely!" the love goddess chirped, hands clasped together in a thrilled demeanor. She stepped into the room as the children hesitantly trickled out, all except for Chris who stood protectively next to Clarisse, his expression a mixture of obstinacy and uncertainty. Laughing gaily, Aphrodite shook her head at the son of Hermes as though he were acting silly, "Young man, your worry, endearing as it may be, is wholly unnecessary. I merely wish to have a little chat with Clarisse. _Privately_."

Leaving Clarisse to assure her boyfriend, Aphrodite examined the myriad of seating furniture with a critical eye before choosing the modern truffle-colored Monty Sofa. Crossing her legs, she smiled encouragingly at Clarisse and lightly patted the space beside her, "I don't bite, dear."

"I don't want a makeover," was the first thing to come out of Clarisse's mouth the split-second her derrière hit the sofa.

Throwing her head back, golden-blonde curls dancing merrily at the sharp movement, a bubble of bell-like laughter emitted from the goddess, her eyes twinkling incandescently as a result of her blunt words. Recovering, though her eyes still shone with mirth, Aphrodite reached forward and patted the brunette's folded hands, "I wasn't offering. Although later, if you do want one, I'll be happy to oblige. No, I wish to speak to you about your father."

Defenses as thick as a brick wall were erected and if possible, Clarisse's hesitance intensified, "What about him?"

"You tell me," the love goddess's expression sobered. "Whatever plagues your mind, you can tell me. I shan't breathe a word of this conversation to _anyone_. It's between us girls."

But Clarisse remained unconvinced, "Why? I mean, in the future, you never bothered. What's in it for you? Why now?" Suspicion and a hint of surging fear coated the demigod's inquiries and Aphrodite's eyes shuttered as the realization hit her, "You are _terrified_ of him." At the look of surprise she found herself on the receiving end of, she smiled sadly, "Love may be the most paramount and foremost of my domain, but my powers are not limited to that certain province. If only you knew of the diverse jurisdictions I possess and the power I wield."

"Seeing you own Athena gave me an idea," Clarisse mumbled.

A diabolical smirk pulled at Aphrodite's pouty lips and she casually brushed a hand in the air, "Oh, _that_? My dear, that was simply _child's play_. I barely made a dent in her." At that moment, Clarisse could comprehend Percy's indomitable belief regarding Aphrodite being one of the most terrifying Olympians. "I sense an echo of Terror, a mark my son Deimos left on you. He touched you with his powers. A mother always knows," her smile held many secrets, though it also held sadness. "You've succeeded in overcoming your paterphobia, but not eradicate it completely. You still fear his ferocious temper. You do not wish to disappoint." Omniscient kaleidoscopic eyes observed her with suffocating intensity and they widened a fraction, "I also sense a father's pride. You received acceptance from Ares in the future-" she held up her hand, halting any interruptions, "-I do not need to know. In time, all shall be revealed. _However_ , psychoanalyzing you and uprooting your fears was not my intention; healing the rift in whatever opinion you may have formed of your father, _is_."

Lips compressed together, Clarisse exhaled loudly and started to rant and rave, her suppressed emotions and thoughts bursting through like a tidal wave, "He harbors so much _hate_ for Olivia. I try to understand why, but I, I _can't_. She's brave, she's strong, she's so, _so awe-inspiring_ , an idol worthy of praise and, and _he's so cruel to her_. And… his misogynistic opinion, the only exception being immortal women, I just, I don't think _I want to_ understand. There's no excuse! I mean, Darla was an excellent swordswoman but because she died two hours into her first quest he bans all his future demigod daughters from participating in quests?!"

She contemplated the young demigod for a brief moment, "Tell me, Clarisse, what do you know of Alcippe?"

Frowning in thought, Clarisse nodded in response to the non sequitur and promptly responded, "She was a daughter of Ares who Halirrhothius, Poseidon's son, attempted to rape."

"It was _no_ attempt, young one," Aphrodite hastened to correct her, eyes tight, the subject clearly not of her liking. "Alas, I cannot say I am not surprised in terms of history's inaccuracy. It seems to be a trend when concerning Ares. Halirrhothius _raped_ poor Alcippe, Clarisse. Ares' rage-" an expression of unadulterated awe colored the goddess's features, a distant quality to her eye as though she were currently reliving that momentous incident, "-was a sight to behold. He appeared at his daughter's summons and, like an avenging god, his vengeance was swift and deadly. Halirrhothius didn't have a chance and he never saw it coming because the general consensus to be believed is that Ares cares not for his children." She directed a pointed look at the rapidly paling and astonished demigod. "His anger was so raw and potent, even Zeus feared his wrath; his infamous rage generated the first trial in history. Poseidon was the only one who dared challenge Ares, _only_ until the trial began and he _immediately_ rescinded his accusation, horrified and disgusted and _ashamed_ at his son's vile act. Ares' rage and the honor he sought for his daughter knew no bounds the Areopagus was named after him."

Concealing her awe at the details that were left out of the history books, Clarisse grunted, "While I appreciate the history lesson, I don't see what the point is, of you telling me this…"

Clasping her hands together, the love goddess arched an eyebrow at her, "Despite our immense power, _we are_ subject to divine laws, dear one. Before the formation of the Ancient Law, it was an unspoken rule that we are _not_ to interfere in our children's lives, _especially_ our mortal children. And although we were more lenient in ancient times, we tried to keep our distance. And yet, when Alcippe summoned Ares through her fear, her pain, _her_ _tears_ , he didn't hesitate, nor did he ignore her and, he did all he could to exact justice and lay fear in the hearts of those in the future that would dare to harm even a hair out of any child of his." Staring down at her, Aphrodite lightly brought a matter to her attention, "Did your father ever abandon you, Clarisse. Ponder hard."

Memories of her quest infiltrated her mind. The night before she was to set sail for the Sea of Monsters, Clarisse prayed for her father's aid and he didn't disappoint. He berated her, threatened her, and demanded that she bring honor to him, and when he claimed one of her brothers were more deserving of the quest, her heart hardened, masking her hurt. But… knowing what she did now, Clarisse effortlessly pieced the puzzle pieces together, detecting the hidden meaning behind that memorable interaction. Her father worried for her wellbeing – after Darla, he ensured Chiron banned all daughters of Ares from seeking an audience with the Oracle. He utilized fear and uttered threats in order to _keep her alive_ , using it as a motivation at the risk of her hating and fearing her own father…

Blinking, Clarisse gaped at the smug goddess before her. However, in true daughter of Ares fashion, she was unwilling to surrender, and so, she barked out, "What about Olivia?"

"Olivia is… _complicated_ ," she regrettably answered, expression somber once more. "I have my suspicions, but it is not my story to tell. What I can divulge however, is this. It is a rarity for a god to conceive an _unexpected_ child with a mortal. A demigod is conceived _if_ _and_ _only if_ , the god found the mortal worthy, if they grew fond of, or even fell in love with said mortal. At times, we notice something special in a mortal and decide to procreate with them."

"So my mother…" Clarisse trailed off, restored hope alight in her eyes.

Aphrodite bestowed her with a comforting smile, "Meant a great deal to Ares. He wasn't in love with her, but he _did_ grow to care for her. You were no mistake, Clarisse. Abandon such thoughts." Her smile turned sad at her next words, "Olivia Winchester on the other hand, I regret to say this, but… Ares never meant for her existence to come to be. I have said more than I should," the goddess elegantly stood up, gesturing for Clarisse to mimic her. "I hope you mull over our conversation on your own free time and not think too hard of your father, hmm."

But before they departed the guest chambers, Clarisse had to ask, "You're different than I expected. I thought you'd be jealous of my father's lovers and despise his children. I mean, he cheated on you countless times, didn't he?"

Her hand pausing on the doorknob, Aphrodite glanced at her, amusement sparkling in her eyes, "My dear child. You mistake me with Hera. Ares and I have an… _understanding_. _Technically_ , it is not called cheating if we are both aware of the respective lovers we choose to entertain. In the past, both Ares and I were susceptible to envy and loathe I am to admit, at times we would end up killing each other's lovers. However, as time progressed, we evolved and learned from our mistakes."

As the goddess and the demigod joined the others in the Throne Room, Clarisse decided to take Aphrodite's advice and ponder the entire conversation at her own time, preferably before bed. Snuggling into Chris' side and ignoring the many inquiring looks her friends aimed at her, she sought her father, deftly masking her smile at the sight of Ares shooting suspicious looks at Aphrodite's innocent expression. Flaming sockets flickered towards her direction and pinned her under his intense stare. Suppressing an embarrassing yelp, she buried her face in Chris' chest and kept her eyes on the blank screen, willing the latest episode to start, though the feeling of being watched by those intense orbs didn't leave her person.

Actuated by Clarisse's pleas, the screen gained color, showing the interior of what looked to be a dorm room where two girls were discussing clothes; a girl with a russet complexion and frizzy black hair was attempting to convince a brunette with no defining characteristics, who seemed to be on the fence, to dress " _hot_ " for her date. Towards the end of the girls' interaction, Aphrodite nodded her head in wholehearted agreement while Artemis' face adopted a prominent scowl, her disgust and disapproval in regards to donning such revealing garments palpable, no words needed to articulate her personal opinion.

 **"** **Don't do anything I wouldn't do," the dark-haired girl cheekily advised. Ready to leave, the brunette, her hand on the doorknob, laughed, "There's** ** _nothing_** **you wouldn't do."**

 **Smiling to herself as the brunette left, the dark-haired girl shamelessly agreed, "That's true."**

"Tis nothing to be proud of," Artemis sneered. "I'm appalled with the young women of this era."

Hera, of course, was in complete agreement, the distaste on her haughty features mirroring her step-daughter.

Leaning into Hermes' personal space, Apollo, his eyes brimming with mirth, whispered, "To each their own."

 **It was nighttime; the scene cut to an abandoned road where a car pulled up. The camera focused on a tall figure with a hook standing behind the trees as the brunette's voice spoke in the background, "I thought we were going to the party."**

 **"** **Well, we can't arrive on time," a masculine voice retorted just before the camera shifted to show the interior of the car. The brunette frowned lightly as she turned to face the boy, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you brought me here on purpose."**

 **Feigning shock, the boy pressed a hand to his chest, "What? I'm offended."**

"Do not question the girl's intelligence," Artemis hissed, the mortal boy's playful demeanor lost on her.

Apollo shrugged, not finding anything wrong with the picture, "I don't see what the big fuss is. Many couples engage in casual, sexual encounters in the privacy of their vehicle. It's been happening for countless decades."

Thinking of the brief kiss Rachel parted him with in Paul's Prius before mounting Blackjack and leaving with Beckendorf to the _Princess Andromeda_ , Percy sheepishly dipped his head in agreement. Annabeth's gaze narrowed on her boyfriend; while she had come to terms with Percy and Rachel's brief, kind of, relationship, she was still prone to jealousy.

"Speaking from experience, _brother_?" Artemis glared at the cheeky wink Apollo chose to respond with.

 **"** **Yeah, I'm sure," the brunette shot back sarcastically. The couple smiled at each other and leaned into each other for a long kiss. Suddenly, her cellphone rang, interrupting them and they reluctantly pulled apart. Looking down at the screen, the caller ID read 'Dad Calling'. Huffing, the boy asked, "You wanna get that?"**

"Talk about bad timing," Piper mumbled.

 **Scoffing, she silenced her cellphone, "Definitely not."**

 **Grinning, the couple resumed kissing.**

"Despicable. One must never ignore a father's call," the goddess of the hunt snarled through gritted teeth.

Zeus did a double take, an eyebrow arched in surprise and eyes brimming with mild amusement towards his daughter. "I seem to recall you deliberately ignoring _my_ explicit summons countless of times, daughter of mine," Zeus dryly pointed out, prompting Apollo, Ares and Hermes to snicker.

Red-faced, Artemis indignantly retorted, "Extenuating circumstances were involved, father. I cannot just abandon my Huntresses betwixt a hunt nor could I simply up and leave whilst recruiting somebody to my cause. You have the worst timings."

"Hmm," Zeus rolled his eyes. "Pretty excuses they may be, they are still excuses nonetheless."

"This young lady cannot leave in the middle of a romantic sojourn, Artemis. Why does your hunt take priority to a tryst?" Aphrodite snapped in a condescending tone.

But before Artemis could volley back some form of judgmental retort, Hera interjected, daggers aimed at her husband, " _Personally_! I've lost count the amount of times my _darling husband_ ignored my calls due to him being in the middle of charming his latest concubine or in the throes of passion with some _harlot_."

A gush of fury, pain and vitriol pervaded the room as a result of Hera's statement and Zeus shifted uncomfortably in his ostentatious throne. Clearing his throat, he awkwardly announced, "Yes, well, _uhm_ , we shall now proceed with the, _uh_ , yes…" Trailing off, he flapped his hand at the screen.

" _Hmph_!" Hera crossed her arms tightly against her chest and indignantly looked away.

 **The boy's hand slowly slid under the brunette's halter strap and she promptly pulled away from him, slapping his hand away. "No," her tone was firm. He, however, ignored her. "It's okay," he coaxed her, making her uncomfortable. The camera shifted to show the figure with the hook slowly move away from the trees and approach the car.**

"Yeah, yeah, bad feelings all around," Leo blurted out before the Oracle had the chance to say a word.

Shaking her head, Hazel shakily spoke up, "Honestly, I don't know what's more concerning. The fact that some freak with a sharp hook is approaching the defenseless couple with _obvious_ evil intent, or the fact that the guy's forcing himself on his girlfriend!"

Artemis fumed in silence.

 **Back inside the car, he began kissing the brunette on the neck, his hand under her strap again. More uncomfortable than before, she pulled away, "Hey, I mean it!"**

A terrifying growl rumbled from Apollo's throat, "When a woman says "no", she means _no_ , meaning _STOP_!"

Touched at her brother's genuine fury, Artemis decided to maintain her silence. After all, Apollo said it all.

Recalling her conversation with Aphrodite, Clarisse clandestinely observed her father and he didn't disappoint. Ares looked positively _furious_ , and frighteningly so. Though, to those who weren't _looking_ , they would translate his emotion as annoyance at the lack of action and bloodshed.

 **At that moment, a loud screeching noise permeated the air and shifting to the exterior of the car, the camera focused on the hook as the figure dragged it along a Dead End sign. In the interior of the car, the freaked out girl was looking around wildly, "What was that?"**

"A monster with a hook?" Travis skeptically commented, an eyebrow jumping to further prove his point.

Katie tapped her chin in thought, "Who said it has to be a monster? It could be some psycho serial killer…"

"The Winchesters don't hunt humans, Kat," Annabeth pointed out.

"That we know of," she retorted.

Smirking, Connor suggested, "Maybe its Captain Hook come to life."

" _Connor_!" Travis, Chris, Katie, Clarisse, Annabeth and Rachel half-heartedly scolded him amidst laughter.

Nico grinned widely, "I got that reference!"

"Same," Hazel laughed, gold orbs twinkling at her brother's childish enthusiasm.

Connor feigned wiping sweat from his forehead, " _Phew_. Explaining pop culture to you guys can be a bitch-"

" _Language_!" Hera shrieked as Katie smacked the youngest Stoll across the head. She then turned to glower at an amused and unconcerned Hermes.

 **"** **I don't know," he replied in a hush, also looking around. The piercing sound intensified and the hook was shown getting dragged along a different sign, one that said '9 Mile Road'. "What** ** _is_** **that?" he demanded, opening the car door. The brunette reached forward to pull him back inside, "No! Rich, no!"**

Artemis sniffed in disapproval, "I don't see why she should concern herself with _his_ fate."

The sun god inclined his head in agreement.

"He doesn't deserve to die," Annabeth snapped, staring at the twins in horror. "She obviously cares about him and we don't know if he wouldn't have stopped."

Hestia smiled at the demigod's compassion while Athena stared at her daughter, appalled.

 **Rich turned to her and said, "No, just wait here," then got out of the car, shutting the door on the brunette's terrified face.**

"The mortal cares for her safety. His chivalry and concern proves that he would not harm her, thus, meaning he never planned on forcing himself on her," Aphrodite reasoned, eyes moist. ' _Oh, how I hate seeing love die…_ '

Torn, Artemis clamped her mouth shut, eyes intent on the screen.

 **Outside, Rich scanned his surroundings as the screeching sound continued; turning around, he made out a long scratch being made on the side of his car, but the perpetrator remained unseen. "What the hell?" he stared, bewildered.**

An irritated groan emanated from a vexed Hades. "Another ghost," he sneered.

Letting out a sympathetic sigh, Persephone clutched her husband's hand in both of hers and offered him a comforting smile.

 **"** **Rich, let's go!" the brunette screamed just as one of the tires from the back was punctured. Her screams intensified as she called out her boyfriend's name and she frantically rolled up the windows and locked them. "Rich, where are you?"**

Percy grimaced, "He's not answering which can only mean one thing-"

"Don't say it," Leo groaned.

"-he's dead," the son of Poseidon finished.

Leo scowled at him, "You _just_ had to say it."

"Me saying it won't change the fact that he's 99% dead," Percy defensively retorted.

Jason shot him a baffled look, "And 1% he…what?"

"Ran off," Percy said, sheepishly ducking his head.

 **Banging and scratching on the roof of the car could be heard and, still screaming, she jumped from the passenger seat to the floor of the backseat. The noise suddenly stopped, her heavy breathing the only sound interrupting the eerie night. "Ok. Ok," she attempted to calm herself before getting out of the car. Just as she started to run, her eyes widened on Rich, who was suspended from a tree, upside down and above the car. She screamed just as the screen turned black.**

"His last moments were devoted to keeping the girl safe. Perhaps I judged him too… _harshly_ ," Artemis forced herself to say through gritted teeth, and though her words sounded forced, her expression truly portrayed sorrow.

"As did I," Apollo sighed, threading a hand through his hair.

"Are you, are you crying? _Oh, Aff_ ," Ariadne sent the love goddess an empathic smile.

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "At least there is a body to mourn and he wasn't gobbled up," he absently remarked, flipping a page.

Many eyes flickered to concentrate on the wine god in shock.

"Is that, _is that supposed to be comforting_!?" Aphrodite yelled, aghast.

Blinking in bemusement, Dionysus asked, "Was it not?"

Hermes masked a snort behind a cough.

"My husband _means well_ ," Ariadne began, a scowl on her pretty face. "He, unfortunately, lacks tact."

"Thank you, dear," Dionysus smirked.

Ares rolled his eyes, "It wasn't a compliment you _drunk loon_!"

Unconcerned, the wine god pecked his irritated wife on the cheek and conjured a can of Diet Coke.

"At times, I cannot help but wonder where Semele went wrong with him," Zeus muttered for only an amused Poseidon to hear.

 **The scene opened to show an outdoor café where Sam stood nearby on a payphone.**

 **"** **Alright, thank you for your time," hanging up, Sam made his way to a table where Dean was working on the laptop and Liv was enjoying a cup of coffee.**

It was an instinctual reaction, done without conscious thought; the appearance of the Winchesters lightened up the somber ambience and elicited a few smiles throughout the room. After witnessing the death of a young boy at the hands of an entity that, for all intents and purposes, _should not_ exist, and in Aphrodite's case, another couple forcibly torn apart, observing the dynamics of the Winchesters was a benison, alleviating the amassed tension and muting their personal concerns.

 **His eyes never leaving the screen, Dean jutted his chin toward the drink in front of Sam, "Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is gettin' cold over here, Francis."**

 **"** **Bite me," Sam sat next to a smirking Liv.**

"It's a good drink," Leo defended Sam's choice of beverage.

 **"** **So anything?" Dean asked. A crease between his eyebrows, Sam shook his head, "I had 'em check the FBI's Missing Persons Data Bank. No John Doe's fitting Dad's description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations."**

"Smart," Apollo remarked with a small shake of his head. "Though it's a long shot. Hunting 101 must have a section for evading trouble with the law. From what I've managed to put together, John's too smart to get any traffic violations."

Grinning, Percy stated, "Hunting 101?"

"Must be a manual somewhere," the sun god smirked.

Hera sniffed. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those three. They've tangled with the law twice already," and while she sounded slightly condescending, her siblings and husband sensed the sincere concern in her tone.

 **Taking a particularly large sip, Liv dabbed her lower lip with a napkin and glumly sighed, "I think it's time we accept the truth you guys. I don't think Uncle John** ** _wants_** **to be found." Disappointed, Sam parted his lips to interrupt and probably argue, but Liv held up a hand and continued with her line of thought, "I mean, think about it for a sec. Uncle John's** ** _the_** **master at leaving behind clues. He's been doing it for** ** _years_** **… If he wanted us to find him, we would've done so the moment we stepped foot in Jericho four months ago."**

Hermes' comment of, "Liv's got a point," was drowned by Artemis' exclamation of, " _Four months_! It felt like weeks, a month at most!"

There was an overlap of exclamations as the inhabitants in the Throne Room reacted to Liv's revelation, vocalizing their shock.

"It is problematic," Hecate grimly stated. "Other than the Wendigo, we are blind to the exact dates of the other hunts the cousins participated in."

A contemplative expression on his handsome features, Will abruptly spoke up, "I've just had a thought… what if the cases we witnessed the Winchesters solve weren't the _only ones_. I mean, think about it; to get from one destination to another, and… apparently, according to Liv, four months passed since they dealt with that Woman in White… _what if_ there were more hunts interspersed between the few the Fates had us watch?"

"That's-" Poseidon let out a long-drawn-out breath of surprise. "Apollo's boy makes an interesting argument."

"I believe it's safe to surmise that the Moirai specially selected hunts of great importance. If we were to observe the cousins' day-to-day lives in excruciating detail, _why_ , we'd never complete their mission," Hestia, the voice of reason, announced.

Despite Hestia's reasoning which assuaged the room in general, the pronounced frown on Artemis' face didn't waver. _She_ yearned to rid the world of those _filth_. But such a feat now proved to be impossible without the correct _detailed_ knowledge. The goddess of the hunt was now blind and she was severely displeased.

 **Dean gave his disappointed brother a sympathetic smile that portrayed he was in agreement with Liv. Abruptly changing the subject, he flipped the laptop around to show Sam an article, "Check this out. It's a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It's only a hundred miles from here."**

The demigods, excluding Frank, squinted at the screen.

"It's about Rich's death," Rachel informed them with a smile, having quickly read ahead to satisfy her friends' curiosity.

 **Sam read aloud, "The mutilated body was found near the victim's car, parked on 9 Mile Road." When his expression turned skeptical, Dean gestured for him to keep reading. "Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was** ** _invisible_** **."**

"Sucks to be that girl," Piper mused out loud. "Unable to withhold evidence but saying the truth would mark her as insane… I feel for that poor girl."

Jason agreed, pulling Piper into his arms, "Whatever she chooses to do, it won't end well for her."

" _Mortals_ ," Dionysus muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes as the empty can of Diet Coke dissipated with a lazy flick of his hand.

 **"** **Definitely our kind of thing," Liv absently commented, taking another sip of coffee. Dean lifted a brow at Sam, "Could be something interesting."**

"I love how _interesting_ for them is considered nightmarish to us," Katie pointed out.

Thalia appeared pensive, "I don't know about that. The nightmarish factor, _yeah_ , I'm definitely with you. But revealing the ghost's identity _could be_ interesting. I _really_ want to know what the deal is with that hook."

"Captain Hook wannabe," Connor grinned.

Athena frowned, "I still do not comprehend that connotation."

 **Mulish, Sam said, "** ** _Or_** **it could be nothing at all. One freaked out witness who didn't see anything? Doesn't mean it's the Invisible Man."**

"The Invisible Man?" Hazel cocked her head to the side, perplexed.

Apollo perked up, "Oh, it's a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells that was first published in 1897."

A sudden hush filled the room as all eyes were on him. Even Dionysus dropped his _scintillating_ magazine in shock to gape at the god.

"What? I _read_!" the sun god indignantly exclaimed.

"Yeah, erotica, mayhap... but, _science fiction_!?" Athena gaped unattractively at the self-proclaimed god of _knowledge_. Privately, she knew envy was a great factor that fueled her mixed denial and rage but still, all these millennia and Athena still had trouble admitting, even to herself, that the sun god was on par with her, and more powerful at that.

But, to the goddess of wisdom's frustration, Apollo's respond to her backhanded insult was a knowing smirk. That accursed brother of hers always knew how to ruffle her feathers. " _Thena_ , sister, green doesn't suit you. Makes you look like a hag," he grinned boyishly.

"Right, so, The Invisible Man…?" Hazel hesitantly inquired, cutting into Athena's shriek of anger.

Beaming at the daughter of Pluto, Apollo obliged, "The book is basically about a scientist named Griffin who has devoted himself to research into optics. His research inadvertently has him learning the secret to invisibility. Griffin successfully carries out the procedure on himself but unfortunately, fails to learn how to reverse the process after many attempts. It's an interesting read."

"You continue to surprise me, brother," Artemis fondly admitted.

Apollo winked, "I aim to keep you on your toes, sister dearest."

"I'm sorry… can we, let's _just_ forget about the book for a mo.! Am I the _only one here_ that's annoyed at Sam's hypocrisy?" Thalia groused out, electric blue eyes flaring. "Regardless of the fact that he was right about that shapeshifter in St. Louis, he _forced_ Dean and Liv to go there, not based on a hunch, but because he's adamant his friend's not a killer. There wasn't _anything_ remotely suspicious about it and yet, Sam _made them go_ , but when he reads about a girl claiming her boyfriend got whacked by something invisible, he's skeptical. Really? _Really_?!"

"I sense you feel strongly about this," Hermes stated, a hint of humor in his tone that prompted the daughter of Zeus to train her glare onto him and he raised his hands in peace.

Shifting in Chris' arms, Clarisse shrugged, "He's just being thorough. Nothing wrong with that."

Thalia rolled her eyes, "Only 'cause you _like_ him."

" _Oi_!" Chris snapped.

"Alright, that's enough you two," Percy authoritatively spoke up. "Yes Sam's being a hypocrite but it's obvious his only focus is finding his Dad, he's either not thinking straight or doesn't want to. Let's just leave it at that, 'kay?"

Grumbling, Thalia and Clarisse gave each other one last glare before focusing on the screen, leaving the gods to stare at Percy in wonderment, noting he had the qualities of a leader and awed at how easily he got the two strong-headed demigods to obey him.

Poseidon beamed proudly at his son.

 **"** **Right. 'Cause an invisible killer is an everyday occurrence," Liv commented sarcastically.**

Thalia nodded furiously in agreement.

 **Sighing, Dean said in a tone of finality, "Dad would check it out."**

"And Sam folds," Nico stated in a singsong voice.

 **The scene then cut to the Impala stopping at a fraternity. The frat boys stared in confusion as Sam and Dean got out of the car. Leaning into Dean, Sam asked, "One more time, why are we here?"**

 **"** **Victim lived here," Dean hissed back; his green eyes then narrowed at a couple of frat guys that wolf-whistled at the sight of Liv as she stepped out of the Impala and leaned against the hood.**

Unconsciously imitating Dean, Ares' glowing red eyes narrowed into slits at the offending punks, his jaw clenched.

 **The brothers approached a group fixing a car. "Nice wheels," Dean commented, prompting them to look at him strangely. "We're your fraternity brothers. From Ohio. We're new in town. Transfers. Looking for a place to stay," he grinned, easily fooling them as they immediately bought his lie. Sam then turned his head a fraction and nodded at Liv who, after winking at him, put on a pair of shades and leaned back against the hood.**

 **The scene then cut to the interior of the fraternity house; a shirtless frat boy in yellow shorts was painting himself in purple as the brothers knocked on his door.**

"Wait! What about Liv?" Piper frowned, noting the female Winchester's absence.

Hermes promptly responded, "The ruse is for Dean and Sam to parade around as transfers from another fraternity. Liv's presence would've just ruined that."

"She can't imitate a police officer," Apollo added. "The cousins have to _blend_ in."

Kaleidoscopic eyes widening, Aphrodite exuberantly cried out, "Olivia must have to join a sorority!"

The moment Aphrodite mentioned the word 'sorority', the god of war was sucked into an expeditious tour that reached completion in a blink of an eye, all the sorority girls he bedded, flirted with and led on, as well as the wild parties, nonstop drinking and drugs, and their skimpy outfits that didn't leave much to the imagination, infiltrating the recess of his mind, which prompted him to instinctively and instantaneously bark out without thinking, "Absolutely not!"

"And why _not_?!" Aphrodite demanded, brows narrowed and a challenge in her eyes.

Coming up with a plausible excuse on the spot, Ares, his face a mask of forced nonchalance, growled, "She doesn't look the part, _sixteen-year-old runt_!"

Disregarding the degrading ' _runt_ ' slur that was beginning to lose its touch as it became too overused, Apollo stared at the war god, a knowing shine in his bright eyes that unnerved him. "Ah, c'mon, Ares. You know she fits the description. She'd made a _phenomenal_ sorority girl," the sun god matter-of-factly stated, enjoying the storm his words generated and he calmly watched the turmoil brew in those flaming sockets.

Detaching his orbs from the god of war, Apollo winked at Aphrodite, wordlessly passing on his observation. A secretive smile materialized on the love goddess's face which she hid with the back of her hand, lest her lover caught on.

 **"** **Who are you?" the frat boy stopped painting to stare between the brothers. Dean smiled, walking over to the boy, "We're your new roommates."**

 **Nodding, he held out the brush and can of paint to Dean, "Do me a favor? Get my back. Big game today."**

At that, Demeter wrinkled her nose, "I do not pretend to comprehend mortals' fascination with painting themselves with such volatile chemicals."

Latching onto that, Athena brusquely nodded, "I see your point. They give off volatile organic compounds. To list a few out of the variant chemicals, toluene, xylene, glycol, methylene chloride-"

"Thank you for the chemistry lesson, Athena," Dionysus dryly interjected, purple orbs flaring in irritation. "Now I can pass tomorrow's quiz," he snidely remarked, prompting bouts of laughter from the demigods.

Furious, Athena, a light blush on her face, sneered, "I shan't allow your words to affect me, for I know how _taxing_ it is for you to simply _pronounce_ such words that are outside your comfort zone."

Not the least bit offended, much to Athena's aggravation, Dionysus placed a hand over his heart, "Oh! Your words wound me, Athena. Truly, they do."

" _Enough_!" a weary Zeus interjected.

" _He_ started it!" Athena petulantly retorted, an offending finger pointed at the wine god.

Dionysus rolled his eyes and emitted an amused huff, "What are you, _five_?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, Zeus barked, "I said _enough_!"

 **Dean automatically pointed over at Sam. "He's the artist. Things he can do with a brush," he exaggerated with a mischievous grin. Mortified, Sam had no choice but to accept the brush and can.**

Laughter ensued.

"Ah, I can always rely on Dean to make me laugh," Jason grinned.

 **The scene then alternated to the Impala. Liv, shades covering her eyes and a forearm draped against her forehead, was lying down on her back on the Impala's hood when a shadow fell on her. "Whoever you are, move it. You're blocking the sun," she muttered snippily, not moving an inch.**

"Oohh, do I sense a frat boy trying his luck with her?" Aphrodite mused, eagerly sitting on the edge of her throne in anticipation.

At the mere thought, Ares ground his teeth together and clenched his fists.

 **"** **You're not a frat boy," a modulated, mischievous voice permeated the air, the shadow still blocking the sun.**

 **With an annoyed huff, Liv propped up on her elbows to better meet his gaze and lowered her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose to unveil her eyes. "What an** ** _excellent_** **observation. Give ya a solid A+," she sarcastically retorted.**

"Good one!" Thalia cheered, greatly enjoying the interaction.

However, as the man emitted a fruity laugh, the camera honed in on him and nearly every female in the room gasped as they shamelessly raked his form and admired his attractive features. He was _gorgeous_ ; simply put. He was six feet, two inches of pure muscle; he wore a white Henley that clung snugly to his long and lean, well-defined chest, the sleeves rolled up to reveal tanned muscular forearms, and a pair of indigo jeans that outlined the long lean muscles in his thighs. Short clustered light brown curls at the top of his head swayed lightly with the breeze; he had a clean-shaven face that showed the beginning of a five o'clock shadow and a straight-sloped nose, a hard jaw, strong cheekbones and rosebud lips that appeared as though they were always lifted in a smile. Hazel-green eyes twinkled at Liv as she, like most of the goddesses and every single female demigod, stared at him in appreciation.

"I approve!" Persephone exclaimed.

"As do I!" Aphrodite crowed, "My, my, _my_. What a _stunning_ specimen."

Ariadne, Amphitrite and Demeter nodded in wholehearted agreement, their eyes as round as a drachma and pupils dilated with lust.

 **"** **I'll take that as a compliment," he grinned before holding a hand out. "Rob. Rob Cruise."**

 **She raised a brow and stared at him a moment longer before shaking the proffered hand, "Olivia." Her other eyebrow rose when he smoothly bent over and brushed his lips against her knuckles, and cheekily said, "Is that like Cher?"**

"And they say chivalry is dead," Annabeth smiled, full teeth on display.

Piper giggled, a smirk on her face, "Oh believe me. It died ages ago. He's just bringing it back."

"Amen," Katie breathily agreed, wide eyes fixated on Rob Cruise in palpable admiration.

Percy, Jason and Travis scowled at their respective girlfriends, " _Hey_!"

"No offense," the three girls echoed.

And, in complete unison, their boyfriends grumpily retorted, not missing a beat, "Offense _taken_."

Annabeth scoffed, playfully bumping her shoulder against Percy's, "You'll get over it."

"Not likely," he mumbled, though he failed to suppress the subtle quirk of his lips.

 **"** **Is that a problem?" she retorted, showing a bit of attitude. He raised both hands before tucking them into the front pockets of his jeans, "Nah. I like a girl with mystery."**

 **Smirking, Liv blatantly flirted, "Then you'll** ** _love_** **me."**

"She's flirting," Apollo stated, grinning.

Hermes chuckled, "Stating the obvious there, bro."

The god of war grew incensed at the interaction between the runt and pretty boy, but he kept his mouth _firmly_ shut. He didn't want anybody to misunderstand his rage for _protectiveness_ – he mentally sneered at the mere thought. He cared not for the runt, he just wanted action. ' _That's all!_ ' he convinced himself.

 **"** **Cocky," Rob commented. Mirthful eyes then admired the Impala, "Got a sweet ride. Yours?"**

Poseidon cocked his head in contemplation, "I believe this mortal is sincere in regards to his appreciation of the vehicle. However, I sense he is fishing for information."

"He appears to be a little _old_ for a fraternity. Does he not?" Athena regarded the mortal with a suspicious eye.

Chris shrugged, "Must be a senior. Or he could have been held back."

 **"** **A friend's," Liv lied convincingly.**

A mild frown formed on Ariadne's features, "They seem to be going for a different angle than the norm."

"I don't see the need to lie about their relationship," Rachel remarked, disapproval in her eyes. "Their story could be that their family moved from Ohio to Iowa and they're transferring. No need to go through all that trouble of concocting some elaborate tale."

"Maybe Liv just didn't want to give some random frat guy her real name," Katie hypothesized, shrugging a shoulder.

Clearing his throat, Dionysus surprised them all, not only at his contribution, but his smart deduction, "You all seem to have forgotten an important detail regarding Dean Winchester's current _deceased_ and _criminal_ status as far as the public is concerned."

Nearly everyone appeared to be taken aback, staring at the indifferent wine god in various states of shock.

"Right!" Apollo snapped his fingers in remembrance, "Completely slipped my mind."

But Percy found himself leveling Dionysus with an accusing glare. "Wait a minute… how is it you get Dean's name right, but _ours_ wrong?!" he waved a hand in the general direction of himself and the demigods.

Meeting the sea-green glare with disinterest, Dionysus absently stated, "I have _no idea_ what you are blathering on about, Pedro."

"It's _Percy_!" Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico and the Stolls intoned in exasperation.

Returning to his magazine, the wine god batted a hand in the air, "Whatever."

"You really are something, D," Hermes smirked, shaking his head fondly.

 **The scene alternated back to the brothers; Sam, a pinched look on his face, was painting the frat boy's back while Dean was lounged in a comfortable chair, a magazine in hand. "So-" Dean prefaced, glancing at the name on the magazine, "-Murph. Is it true?"**

 **"** **What?" he asked, one brow cocked. Radiating innocent curiosity, Dean probed, "We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week."**

"We heard some dude got murdered. Let's join his fraternity," Connor scoffed, his tone laced with sarcasm.

There was a subtle quirk of Hecate's lips, "It does raise some questions."

"But it's also natural to ask questions," Clarisse pointed out. "I would if it were me attending that university."

Aphrodite shot her a genial smile, "Does that mean you're attending University?"

Flaming sockets instantaneously flickered in her direction, curiosity roused.

"Yeah," she grunted, appearing modest. "University of Arizona. Just started actually before I got zapped here."

Athena gave her an appraising look, "Well done. Tis rare for a demigod to reach to that certain point in their life. I expected less out of Ares' spawns."

Pride was quelled by rage and Ares shot the goddess of wisdom a withering glare.

"Right," Clarisse dryly uttered, glowering at the goddess. "Thanks for the backhanded compliment," she quipped.

She merely sniffed in response and haughtily ignored the dual glares boring into her person, courtesy of Ares and Aphrodite.

"Sorry!" a mortified looking Annabeth mouthed at Clarisse.

 **When Murph sadly expressed an affirmative, Sam inquired as to what happened.**

 **"** **They're saying some psycho with a knife. Maybe a drifter passing through," Murph responded, a sad pout on his lips. "Rich was a good guy," he added.**

Artemis couldn't quite hold back a scoff that claimed she thought the _complete_ opposite.

"He was a young mortal with a lot more to learn, Artemis," Hestia admonished, displeased with her niece for thinking such ill thoughts of the dead, especially one as young as Rich.

Ariadne hummed in agreement, "Regardless of his improper exuberance, he died protecting his inamorata."

The virgin goddess harrumphed and looked away.

 **"** **Rich, he was with somebody?" Sam inquired. A look of awe settled on Murph's face, "Not just** ** _somebody_** **. Lori Sorenson."**

 **Dean's eyebrows rose, "Who's Lori Sorenson?" His expression screamed mischief as he, in afterthought, turned to Sam with a shit-eating grin, "You missed a spot. Just down there." He pointed at the spot on Murph's back. Sam glared, annoyed.**

"Dean is such a little shit!" Thalia tossed her head backwards and barked out a laugh.

Connor shook his head in commiseration, "He's like, _the_ perfect example of an annoying older brother."

"You tryin' ta say somethin', bro?" Travis arched a brow, an expectant look in his mirthful blue eyes.

The youngest Stoll simply shrugged, "Just stating a fact."

"There seems to be plenty of _facts_ in need of stating," an amused Amphitrite mused aloud, her gaze mostly intent on Dionysus.

 **Morph grinned, "Lori's a freshman. She's a local.** ** _Super_** **-hot. And get this." His voice took on a conspiratorial note, eyes flickering between Dean and Sam, "She's a reverend's daughter."**

"That _is_ interesting," Apollo's lips _slowly_ pulled into a Cheshire smile.

Realization dawned on the love goddess, "I believe I am beginning to comprehend Lori's disinclination to Rich's attempt of seduction."

Hazel's brows knit together. "Having a reverend for a father isn't the exclusive reason when somebody isn't willing to put out. Maybe Lori just wanted to take things slow. Maybe she didn't want to _do that_ -" she blushed furiously, a hand manically gesturing in substitute of the word, but adamantly continued, "-in a car in the middle of _nowhere_. Or just _maybe_ , she's waiting for somebody special to come along, or perhaps _marriage_."

Aphrodite emitted a noise that sounded like a scoff and a mocking laugh, and she waved a hand in the air, staring at the daughter of Pluto as though she was some ridiculous specimen. " _Marriage_? My dear girl, commendable such a thought may be, I am going to _have_ _to_ disagree with you. Sex is a, an... it is an _indescribable_ act of passion, a physical act meant to express oneself! Sexual intercourse is _magnetic_ and amazing and _exhilarating_! It is, it is…" she trailed off, searching for a more precise description to an act that _cannot_ be described by _mere words_.

"Euphoric," Demeter inserted, dreamy-eyed.

Whipping around to face the goddess of agriculture, Aphrodite enthusiastically clapped her hands together and squealed, "Yes, Demeter, euphoric. _Euphoric_!"

"Magical," Persephone breathily added, prompting Hades and Zeus to stare – the former in lust, eyes darkening until his sclerae were _almost_ nonexistent, and the latter in mild abhorrence; he didn't want insight to his daughter's sex life with his _brother_ , thank you very much.

A wide grin pulled at Aphrodite's face as though it were about to split her face in half and she waved grandly at the Queen of the Underworld, " _Magical_! Exactly, Seph."

Demeter wrinkled her nose, her dreamy-eyed and wistful expression melting as she glared daggers at a smug and extremely aroused Hades.

"Wild and unrestrained," Amphitrite's voice lowered with lust, oceanic eyes dilating as they connected with Poseidon's.

Aphrodite made a giddy noise.

" _Amphitrite_!" Poseidon exclaimed, mildly breathless. He sounded a mixture of shocked and aroused.

Sea-green clashed with sea-green, both Percy and Triton staring agape and nearly paralyzed with horror.

" _Barf_!" Percy managed to spit out.

Katie and Piper glared half-heartedly at Hazel.

The daughter of Pluto blinked at them, confused at the dual glares penetrating her person. "What?"

"Don't _what_ us! You just _had_ to bring up sex before marriage. Well, now you've done it!" Piper exclaimed, histrionically throwing her entire arm out in the general direction of the aroused gods and the contesting goddesses, most embarrassing of all: _her_ _mother_.

The daughter of Demeter buried her face in her palms, "This is _soo_ embarrassing!"

And then, Hera decided to have her say. "Intimate!" she shrieked. "Sexual intercourse is an act of _intimacy_ , one of connectedness. _Naturally_ , waiting for marriage _is_ the smart and _only_ decision."

"Oh, shut up!" Aphrodite, Persephone, Demeter and Amphitrite snapped at Hera, their eyes still locked with their respective significant other.

Hera frothed at the mouth, "Why I-"

"Merchandise must _always_ be tested before they are sold at the markets, Hera," Ariadne calmly spoke up, a mischievous light in her warm orbs. "Sex is the same. Test runs must be made to acknowledge the skillset. What if one waits for marriage and the sex is _abysmal_. Dionysus and I had _many_ trial runs before our wedding."

Having had abandoned his magazine at the word 'reverend', Dionysus leaned in to his wife's personal space and clasped both her hands in his, "Oh we did. Only one test run was needed, the others that followed were merely us obeying our libido's demands."

"Oh gods!" Rachel clapped a hand to her mouth, slightly nauseous at the vivid images attacking her without mercy.

Travis, Connor, Nico, Percy, Thalia and Annabeth turned an odd shade of green. "We didn't need to know that!" they intoned in disgust.

"Too much information," Will groaned, though he was grateful his father decided not to join in on the _fascinating_ fulmination against sex before marriage.

Leaning into Annabeth, Thalia whispered, "Don't you find it strange that Artemis hadn't spoken a single word?"

But before Annabeth could offer a verbal affirmative or even a small nod of agreement, the Goddess of Chastity and Maidenhood snapped out of her stupor and screamed, "I'VE HAD IT! Sexual intercourse is an atrocious and most disgusting act. Arguing about its pros and cons _in front of the children_ -"

" _Hey_!" the demigods, Rachel and Grover yelled in affront, but Artemis paid them no mind.

"-and don't get me started on the plethora of sexually transmitted diseases, the risk of pregnancy, the nasty exchange of saliva and bodily fluids and-"

Incensed, Aphrodite sneered, "Oh put a cork in it, you frigid biddy! Nobody asked _you_ , we already know where you stand on that particular subject."

"Alright, that's enough. Zip it!" Ares snarled, shocking the room in general. As per the norm, they expected Zeus or Hestia to demand silence and actually receive results, not the war of god. "Discuss your personal opinions on your own damn time!" Rendered speechless, everyone kept their silence – but mostly out of shock. Aphrodite arched an inquiring eyebrow at her lover, who leaned in, placed a kiss on her cheek and huskily whispered, his words ringing with promise, "Sorry, my love. I was seconds away from dominating you right here, in this room, regardless of our audience. My control was waning. But the second we're done here, you're going to be screaming my name throughout the night until you fall unconscious from pleasure."

She shivered, kaleidoscopic eyes dilating with a heady combination of lust and love, her desire for him building. "Oh, mon amour, you always know the right things to say. Later," she vowed, giving him a sultry wink that had his member stir almost painfully and he found himself impatiently waiting for the night to end.

 **"** **You wouldn't happen to know which church, would ya?" Dean casually asked.**

 **Alternating back to the Impala, Dean and Sam scowled simultaneously the moment they stepped foot out of the fraternity, eyes narrowed on Liv and Rob.**

 **"** **Who's this?" Sam demanded, glaring at Rob.**

"Ugh, cock-blockers," Rachel murmured. Or at least, she _thought_ her voice was a murmur.

All eyes were fixated on her, some amused, some horrified and only Hephaestus appeared neutral.

" _Rachel_!" Annabeth shrieked, mortified. However, the quirk of her lips belied her expression.

"Ah, I do believe I am starting to warm up to you, Raquel," Dionysus huffed out a laugh.

The Oracle didn't bother correcting him, too embarrassed to speak, let alone maintain eye contact with _anyone_. Voice muffled due to the fact that her face was buried in Connor's chest, which was shaking with silent laughter, Rachel said, "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yes!" Percy chuckled.

 **But before Liv could get a word in, Rob swiftly intervened, hand extended, "You must be the mysterious friends I heard nothing about." His eyes then fell to the key in Dean's hand, "Gotta say, man, love your car." Those must have been the magic words, for Dean instantly shook his hand with much vigor, followed by a reluctant Sam. Rob then shot Liv a winsome smile, "Anyways, gotta go. See you around, Cher!" and, parting her with a wink, Rob disappeared inside the fraternity house.**

 **"** ** _Cher_** **?" Sam snidely parroted.**

"How adorable!" Ariadne crooned, "They've already progressed to the personal nickname stage."

An expression that bled of mischief was prominent on Percy's face as he turned to face Clarisse, "Huh. Clarisse and I sure progressed fast. Gave me my own nickname and all the moment I stepped foot at Camp."

Clarisse snarled, "Shut it, Prissy." She then playfully smacked her boyfriend, who was trying and failing to smother his laughter.

"Love ya too, _Claire_ ," Percy smirked, pearly teeth on full display.

The daughter of Ares narrowed her orbs into slits, " _Don't_. Call me _that_!"

"Fine. I'll just call you Claire-Bear," his smirk didn't waver for even a second, not even in the face of Clarisse's glare of promised death.

Her voice dropped to a menacing hiss, "You better sleep with one eye open tonight, Prissy."

Percy simply rolled his eyes.

Hestia let out a long-drawn sigh, her warm orbs flickering between the demigods and their light-hearted, carefree exchange with an air of longing.

 **Liv shrugged, "Mind your own business, Sammy-boy."**

 **"** **What did you tell him?" Dean took over before Sam could start arguing, his expression solemn. Rolling her eyes, Liv patted Dean and then Sam on the chest, "Relax, wouldja! Told him my name's Olivia, said I'm here with friends from Ohio and that I'm a freshman thinking of pledging to Theta Sorority. I was** ** _very_** **vague, so chill."**

"Theta Sorority?" Hazel appeared bemused.

Rachel promptly explained, "Lori must be a member."

The god of war yearned to take his explosive rage out on somebody or some _thing_ … _anything_! And he loathed that feeling, that damn protective sentiment he was currently attempting to squash like an irritating bug.

 **Grudgingly, Sam nodded, "Good cover. Lori's a Theta. You could get close to her."**

"Seriously?" Jason gaped at the frozen image of Sam. "If _my_ sister or little cousin decided to attend a sorority, I'd flip out and do my best to change her mind."

Thalia smirked, "Good thing I've got no notions of joining one then, huh, Jase."

"And if she _did_ get a sudden impulse to join a sorority, nothing you say or do would change her mind. She's too stubborn," Nico scoffed, a small smile playing on his lips.

The daughter of Zeus glared at Nico for at least five beats before she pursed her lips, quelling a smile, and inclined her head, "Ah, can't argue with that."

 **"** **Lori?" Liv frowned, confused. Dean however, cut in, his face shrouded in a mixture of suspicious contemplation, "Hey, Liv, what'd you say that guy's name was again?"**

"She didn't," Piper instantly pointed out.

 **Liv arched a brow, "I didn't.**

Piper looked smug.

 **But his name's Rob Cruise. Why?"**

"Every time they repeat his name, my mind automatically goes to Tom Cruise," Rachel remarked, her tone breathless and a dreamy quality in her emerald orbs.

Aphrodite squealed, recalling a conversation that took place during the hunt of the ghost in the lake, "Oh! Remind me to share a detailed account of my weekend with dear Tom. Perhaps tomorrow during breakfast, hmm?"

Piper, Rachel and Katie enthusiastically uttered an agreement, staring at the love goddess in awe.

Artemis and Hera rolled their eyes aggressively.

 **"** **He didn't seem familiar at all to you?" Dean's green gaze traveled between Liv and Sam, both of whom were staring at Dean with identical nonplussed expressions. Slowly, Liv shrugged a shoulder and shook her head. "No? Sammy?"**

 **Expression unchanging, Sam replied with a negative, "Dean, he's a random frat guy, where would we have seen him before?"**

 **"** **Maybe you ran into him on a hunt," Liv postulated.**

 **Dean rubbed his forehead with the ridge of his palm and though he nodded, it seemed half-hearted, his voice coated in disbelief, "Maybe…"**

"Something isn't right," Apollo murmured, though he ensured his voice could be heard by everyone. "Dean's got good instincts. He says the frat guy looks familiar then he looks familiar."

The ambience was saturated with worriment.

"You don't think this man _followed_ the Winchesters, do you?" Persephone dubiously inquired.

Apollo did an uncertain gesture with his hand, "Can't tell for sure. But something is _definitely_ off."

"Liv has a point, though. We don't know how many people the Winchesters interacted with throughout their lives, passing through cities and hunting monsters… maybe Rob was a victim or somebody they interrogated when he was younger," Will reasoned, closing the subject.

 **The scene then cut to the interior of a church where the Reverend was giving a sermon, "Our hearts go out to the family of a young man who perished. And my personal prayers of thanks go out as well because I believe he died trying to protect my daughter." The camera shifted to focus on Lori, who appeared embarrassed with the attention.**

"He did," Connor pointed out.

Rachel sharply shushed him, her intense gaze never leaving the screen.

"Oh, gods, don't tell me you're religious…" Connor gasped in realization.

The Oracle frowned deeply. "And what if I am?" she demanded, tone sharp.

Connor smartly maintained his silence.

"No, seriously, so what if I attend Sunday Mass and pray to God…? My Dad may not be a family man and he won't be winning any Father of the Year awards anytime soon, _if ever_ , but him and my Mom are devout Catholics and, so am I," Rachel concluded her impassionate speech with a challenging glare, almost daring her friends to mock or ridicule her.

Zeus scoffed and employed a condescending tone as he addressed her, "You are aware of our _existence_. You, the Oracle of Delphi… _you_ , who's Patron is _Apollo_ , believe in _God_ , in an _alleged_ Supreme Being that outrank us. _Sacrilege_!"

Hades couldn't repress himself from rolling his eyes at his brother's incessant need for dramatics. Maria di Angelo was a devout Christian, a Roman Catholic to be exact, before and even _after_ the formation of their relationship, and he knew for a fact that Zeus entertained, and grew to care for, many monotheistic mortals.

"Now, now," Apollo went to appease his father, flashing a comforting smile at his speechless Oracle. "Everyone's entitled to have a belief, Father. Rachel can be both, Polytheistic _and_ monotheistic, no matter how contrasting it sounds."

The King of Olympus tossed Rachel a withering glare but eventually, conceded.

"Our Mom's big on Christianity. She's a nurse, so, she has to be…" Travis hesitantly piped up, subtly defending Rachel.

Hermes had a fond smile materialize on his face, "Yeah, Leanne, despite her shock, was quite open-minded when I revealed my identity to her after she discovered she was pregnant with Travis. It's what made me attached to her. Why I continued to pay her visits and had you, Connor."

"Really?" the Stolls echoed, happy with the new insight since their mother had a habit of being _extremely_ vague whenever they inquired after their father back when they were ignorant.

He must have sensed their thirst for knowledge, for Hermes offered his sons a sad smile and said, "I'll recount some stories later. It seems you're going to be here for a long while. We have time."

"Cool!" they eagerly intoned, smiling from ear to ear.

Such a small concession shouldn't prompt radiant smiles out of his sons. In Hermes' opinion, Travis and Connor should _know_ the story of how he and Leanne met, of _why_ he made an exception and conceived Connor instead of abandoning Leanne the moment she was impregnated with Travis. _They should know_ , and not for the first time, Hermes cursed his Father for reinstating the _accursed_ Ancient Laws.

 **"** **And now, as time heals all our wounds, we should reflect on what this tragedy means. To us, as a church-" suddenly, a loud disturbance echoed in the church as the door slammed shut behind the Winchesters. The congregation went silent and turned to stare at them. Disregarding them, Reverend Sorenson proceeded with his sermon, "-as a community, and as a family. The loss of a young person is particularly tragic. A life unlived is the saddest of passings."**

 **The camera focused on the Winchesters as they sat on a pew; Lori stared at Sam, who offered her a weak smile.**

"I see sparks fly!" Aphrodite squealed.

Hera shot her a vicious glare, her tongue heavy with vitriol, "Her significant other _just_ died, Aphrodite!"

"And…?" the goddess of love posed her question in genuine confusion.

Artemis looked outraged, " _And_ , a mourning period is given!"

Defending Aphrodite, Persephone quipped, "Lori must have missed the memo then."

Features tight with exasperation, Artemis hissed, "It is simply an innocent look, _Persephone_!"

"If you say so," Aphrodite dubiously retorted.

 **"** **So, please, let us pray. For peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children," Reverend Sorenson concluded. Everybody bowed their head in prayer, except Dean. Realizing this, Sam elbowed him, a pointed look on his face coupled with disbelief. Scoping his surroundings, Dean quickly bowed his head.**

Poseidon found himself overwhelmed with confusion, "How _odd_."

"What is, brother?" Hestia calmly inquired.

"It seems to me that Samuel and Olivia are religious. Their response to the Reverend's sermon came to them like second nature and yet, Dean needed the added push," Poseidon verbalized his observation; he, unlike Zeus, was quite open-minded to the diverse beliefs mortals pandered to. He had always been a staunch believer of free will; after all, he _was_ the Sea, unrestrained and unchained, wild and free.

A few holes bored into Ares' forehead, expectant.

Grunting, Ares reluctantly revealed, "Victoria is… _was_ a devout Christian." His slip of the tongue didn't go unnoticed and the sparse looks of sorrow that were sent his way had his blood boiling with fury and indignation.

"Makes sense," Athena uttered indifferently, gray orbs hard. "Didn't Victoria own a crucifix necklace that she passed on to Olivia shortly before her death…?"

Apollo inclined his head, "And based on that, Liv decided to follow her mother's belief, probably to honor her memory. Or perhaps the Winchesters are devout Christians as well. It would explain Sam's reaction to the sermon."

"But not Dean," Hecate added.

Hesitant, Travis piped up, "Maybe Dean chose a different path. I mean, our Mom's really religious, but Con and I, at first, we let her take us to Sunday Mass and Christianity was all we knew… but then, well… once we arrived at Camp Half-Blood and our parentage was revealed, we aren't as devout anymore."

"Mom wasn't happy," Connor unnecessarily revealed, grimacing.

Hermes cringed, "Nope. Definitely not." He _did not_ want to be a fly on the wall when their sons admitted their lack of faith to Leanne.

 **The scene cut to the end of Mass, the congregation leaving the Church and the camera honed in on Lori, who stood with her roommate, talking. "I can't. It's Sunday night," Lori was saying.**

 **"** **It's just us girls. We're gonna do tequila shots and watch Reality Bites," her roommate attempted to persuade her.**

"Ethan Hawke is a total _hottie_! I _love_ that movie!" Piper gushed, googly eyes on the screen.

Katie smiled cheekily at the daughter of Aphrodite, "Tell me about it!"

Unlike the two girls, Annabeth was glaring at the screen in disproval, "What a horrible, _insensitive_ friend! Her boyfriend _died_ and they want her to watch some stupid romantic comedy-drama and indulge in shots!"

"Ice cream and alcohol helped Silena," Clarisse confessed, her voice barely audible and a sheen of tears in her muddy brown eyes. The unspoken ' _when Beckendorf died_ ' was heard loud and clear by the demigods, Rachel and Grover and the cheerful atmosphere dropped abruptly as they silently mourned the loss of Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard.

Unaware of the sudden solemnity engulfing the children, Aphrodite beamed, "What about Silena?"

She cleared her throat, and Clarisse, her voice thick with tears, managed to assemble an intelligible sentence without giving herself away to the goddess, "Just that she was a huge fan of tequila and Rocky Road."

"Oh, how wonderful," she exclaimed. Her forehead puckered all of a sudden, and her bright blue eyes darkened to navy blue as she scoped the room, "Just out of curiosity, why isn't my Silena here?"

Wary looks were exchanged that didn't go unnoticed by Ares, Apollo, Hestia, Hermes, Poseidon, Zeus, Athena, Hades and _surprisingly_ Dionysus.

With a clandestine push, Thalia urged Percy to speak up, him being the unelected, though self-evident, leader. Sea-green eyes gauged the heart-breaking emotion palpable on Clarisse's features and the remarkable front of insouciance she was trying to put up, and that, more than anything, prompted Percy to speak up, his tone one of confusion and forced nonchalance. "Don't know. The Fates have their reasons, I guess," he shrugged a shoulder for emphasis.

Content, Aphrodite sat back on her throne and snuggled into Ares, allowing his muscular arms to encase her svelte form. From over her head, Ares met Apollo and Poseidon's worried gaze, a bad feeling consuming him in regards to Silena's _true whereabouts_...

 **"** **My Dad makes dinner every Sunday night," Lori explained her hesitance.**

 **But her roommate huffed indignantly and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Come** ** _on_** **, Lori. I know this has been hard, but you** ** _are_** **allowed to have fun."**

"It hasn't even been _a week_. Give the girl a break!" Annabeth snapped, glaring daggers at the frizzy-haired girl. "I don't like her," she petulantly decided.

 **Lori sighed, "I'll try." Rolling her eyes, her roommate grudgingly agreed and embraced her before leaving. Just as she left, the Winchesters approached her, with Sam inquiring if she was Lori, to which she responded with a hesitant affirmative.**

 **"** **My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean-" Dean waved, "-and cousin, Olivia-" Liv gave her a tight-lipped smile, "-we just transferred here to the university."**

"She's not very friendly. I've noticed that. Liv isn't interested in playing nice and getting people to like her," Rachel observed, squinting for some unknown reason.

Clarisse rolled her eyes at the redhead. "She's not there to make friends. She's there to hunt. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to mix business with pleasure. And besides, I wouldn't want to make friends with somebody that could possibly be murdered by whatever it is I'm in town to hunt," she rationalized, her tone impassive.

"That's harsh, Clarisse," Rachel couldn't help but stare at the daughter of Ares in pity.

"Bite me, Crazytown," she rudely retorted.

Meanwhile, Athena made a different observation, "What about the ruse? Samuel didn't stick to Olivia's story."

"What story?" Apollo scoffed, his question rhetoric. "She called Dean and Sam 'friends', and for once introduced herself as Olivia instead of Liv."

The goddess of wisdom sneered at the sun god, "And if this Lori knows that mortal frat boy? What then?"

"Before I made it to Camp Half-Blood, I considered my cousins to be my best friends," Katie interjected, unaffected by Athena's annoyance. "Liv could easily maintain the ruse _if_ Rob happens to know Lori."

Gesturing grandly at Katie, Apollo smirked at Athena, " _Exactly_ my point."

 **"** **I saw you inside," Lori remarked, smiling kindly. Sam returned her smile in kind, "We don't wanna bother you. We just heard about what happened and…"**

 **Covering Sam's awkwardness, Dean adopted a sorrowful expression, "We wanted to say how sorry we were."**

 **"** **I kind of know what you're going through. I-I saw someone get hurt once. It's something you don't forget," Sam commiserated with her, ignoring Liv's aggressive eye roll. Lori nodded slightly and as her father approached, introduced him to the Winchesters.**

"It wouldn't hurt Olivia to empathize more," Hecate commented.

Athena sneered at nobody in general, "It's not in the nature of War or its spawns to show empathy to anyone. I doubt they even _have_ a heart, in the figurative sense, of course."

Clarisse looked about ready to pounce at the uppity goddess and claw her eyes out if it weren't for Chris' fast reflexes, pulling her back and circling her midriff with his strong arms.

Before pandemonium could ensue, and before an apoplectic Aphrodite could rise to her lover and his children's defense, Ares surprised them all with his calm posture and equally measured tone, "Coming from a _brain_ child, I think I'll let that comment slide, _Thena_." The smirk that tugged on his lips was positively callous and vicious, and his words equally so, "After all, you are knowledgeable, however, I do wonder, your title, 'Goddess of Wisdom'… if you hadn't spouted from Father's brain, what would your title have been? The Goddess of Insults? No… perhaps, the Goddess of Insensitivity, lacking all compassion and sentimentality, her heart as black as the acid she regorges. My emotions may stem from the negative side, but at least I _possess_ emotions in general and I am quite capable of _love_. You, _not so much_."

"How dare you!" Athena rose from her throne, spear at the ready.

At the same time, Zeus bellowed, "SIT DOWN ATHENA!"

"But Father-"

"No!" he hissed, electric orbs spitting electricity and the scent of ozone heavy in the room, "You had your say, you expressed your barbs, you initiated an unneeded altercation. You sit down and keep your tongue behind your teeth. I do not want to hear any more out of you! _You hear me_!?"

Eyes bright with moisture and voice sharp with venom, she reluctantly snarled, "Yes, Father."

Annabeth looked away, unable to meet her mother's gaze, shame coursing through her as she buried her face in Percy's chest.

 **Dean shook the Reverend's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an inspiring sermon," he said, laying it on thick. The Reverend smiled serenely, "Thank you very much. It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message." Dean chuckled and the Reverend's eyes zeroed in on the silver crucifix around Liv's neck, his smile growing wider as he appraised her.**

The God of the Sky rolled his eyes, his lips compressed mulishly.

 **"** **Listen, uh, we're new in town, actually," Dean nudged Liv and together, they led Reverend Sorenson away from Sam and Lori. Liv's voice could be heard saying, "I don't really feel comfortable transferring here if there's a killer on the loose, so…" her voice drifted off and the shot honed in on Sam and Lori.**

Disregarding the tension Athena generated, Aphrodite smugly announced, "You see! Even Dean and Olivia noticed the sparks between those two."

"Affie, not the time," Apollo murmured, making a cutting motion with his hand.

The Goddess of Love shrugged, wholly unperturbed. _'I didn't say anything wrong…_ '

 **Sam shifted from foot to foot, "Tell me, Lori. What are the police saying?"**

 **They started to walk aimlessly and Lori shrugged, "Well, they don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that."**

 **"** **What do you mean?" he sharply inquired, brows knitting in confusion. Lori stopped walking to squarely meet Sam's gaze. "My story. I was so scared, I guess I was "seeing things"," she sarcastically quoted.**

"Honestly, I'm surprised Lori isn't a suspect in Rich's murder," Apollo mused aloud. "She's the only witness, the only person in the area when he was killed. There's a lot against her."

Rachel nodded her agreement, "Yeah, but she's _also_ the Reverend's daughter. They can't be hasty and point fingers without solid proof."

"It all amounts to who you know," Connor smirked.

That comment had him on the receiving end of a light smack, courtesy of Katie.

 **"** **That doesn't mean it wasn't real," Sam indignantly stated, meeting her gaze.**

 **The scene then shifted to the interior of a Library.**

In comical unison, Annabeth and Athena sat ramrod straight, and while the goddess felt pride at the similarities between herself and her daughter, Annabeth couldn't shake the feeling of her skin crawling, not liking the parallels between them.

As though he was listening in on her thoughts, Percy tightened his hold around her, prompting an ugly scowl out of Athena who loathed the proximity her daughter had with the sea spawn.

 **"** **So you believe her?" Dean asked Sam, and when he replied with an affirmative, the elder brother smirked, "Yeah, I think she's hot, too."**

 **Liv rolled her eyes, casually planting a foot on the table and then her other over it, crossing them together, "She's not bad looking."**

 **"** ** _Not bad looking_** **!?" Dean exclaimed in disbelief, Sam spluttering his shock in the background. Rolling her eyes again-**

"Jeez! She does that a lot. It's a wonder her sockets aren't permanently stuck backwards!" Percy exclaimed, unable to hold it in any longer after watching Liv roll her eyes for the umpteenth time.

Thalia smirked, "She does it more than me, huh?"

"Don't get too excited. You're a close second and Annabeth's third," Jason quickly added Annabeth in afterthought when her lips parted to volley some smug remark. The daughter of wisdom snapped her mouth shut and glared at him, her eyes twitching as she struggled with not rolling them.

Percy suppressed his laughter, eyes flickering between Thalia and Annabeth, "You want to roll them, don't you?"

" _Yes_!" they huffed, a desperate quality heard in their simultaneous exclamation.

 **-Liv said, "Oh,** ** _come on_** **, the only reason Lori Sorenson is highly sought after is 'cause she's the forbidden fruit." When Dean and Sam stared at her blankly, she elaborated with much more enthusiasm, "Look, having something forbidden is exciting. Lori's the Reverend's daughter and a virgin to boot. All the guys want a bite of the apple, but the** ** _grand_** **prize is eating it whole-"**

 **"** **Did you just use an apple as a euphemism for popping some chick's cherry?" Dean asked, an air of incredulity in his tone.**

Dionysus perked up upon hearing more _slang_ , "I know that, I know that. When you kids say 'pop her cherry' you mean-"

"Yes!" Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Will, the Stolls, Katie, Rachel, Chris and Clarisse hastened to exclaim, not wanting to hear the Director of their Camp, who they'd probably encounter on a daily basis once they return to the future, speak about sex and virginity, lest they stab themselves in the ear.

"Hmph. I don't see what the big fuss is about," the wine god mocked an expression of affront, though Hermes and Apollo could clearly detect his amusement. It was common knowledge in Olympus that Dionysus _adored_ torturing demigods, in the psychological sense.

 **Sam shook his head in utter disbelief, "No. Liv's stealing the story of Adam and Eve, using the Forbidden Fruit from the Garden of Eden as a euphemism for why Lori's so famous around here. Wow, Liv. That's a new low."**

 **"** **Hey! First of all, I'm** ** _borrowing_** **not** ** _stealing_** **. And secondly, dude, come on, I'm just simplifying it for you," Liv casually waved a hand overhead before examining the neon blue polish on her nails. "All I'm saying, is that if Lori was some regular Joe's daughter she wouldn't be some big fish on campus.** ** _Capish_** **?"**

"Hate to say it, but Liv actually has a point," Frank shrugged, smiling sheepishly when Hazel fixated him with shocked gold orbs. "What? _She does_ ," he insisted, raising both hands up in an innocent gesture.

Apollo did an inclination of his head, "Liv did hit it on the nail. Nothing gets a red-blooded male's blood pumping than a girl who says no. Lori might not do it on purpose, but she plays hard to get and _that_ , more than anything, initiates the chase. Until that cherry's popped, she's gonna find herself a lot of suitors hounding after her."

At Artemis' aghast expression, Hermes chimed in, "And he means that with _complete sensitivity_ , don't you Apollo?"

"Oh yeah!" the sun god hurriedly affirmed, smiling winsomely at his appalled twin. "This is me speaking from a purely educational perspective."

Aphrodite choked out a laugh and muffled it inside her palm, looking away when Artemis' blazing gaze snapped at her general direction.

 **"** **So that's why guys chase you around then?" Sam suspiciously inquired, his eyes narrowed. The strong air of casualty Liv had been radiating vanished at Sam's question and she became as stiff as a board, adopting a deer in the headlights expression. Dean nervously cleared his throat and swiftly changed the topic, "You were saying you believe Lori…?"**

"AHA!" Aphrodite childishly emitted a cry of victory, her gorgeous features arranged into an expression of smug superiority, especially when her bright blue eyes, currently turning a shade brighter due to her exuberance, focused on a horror-stricken Artemis, "I told you! If this isn't proof enough, I don't know what is. Olivia is _not_ a virgin!"

To those in the room in possession of enhanced hearing, the clear distinctive sound of liquid dripping onto a hard surface could be heard. One by one, the gods and goddesses swiveled around to stare at the miniscule puddle of ichor pooling on the ground, following the trajectory of the golden drops to the source: Ares' hand which had a death grip on the sharp blade of his knife.

All triumph forgotten, Aphrodite swallowed a gasp and hurriedly reached over to extricate the weapon from his vice grip. "Ares!" she halfheartedly scolded.

Blinking in confusion at the combined expression of concern and guilt on his lover's face, the War God frowned, "What is it?"

"Your-, Ares your hand," Aphrodite gestured to his hand, not releasing the ichor coated knife from her hand. Blinking down at the deep wound in his palm that was slowly knitting together, he shrugged and willed the smeared ichor to vanish.

"What are you looking at, punks?" he growled at the group of teenagers that had been outright staring at him with wide eyes and agape mouths. His irate bellow snapped them from their trance and they abruptly disconnected their gaze.

Removing the attention from the obviously wroth father who was deep in denial, Artemis, posture set in a stubborn stance, hissed, "Until we are given verbal or visual proof, Olivia will still be considered a virgin to my eyes."

"Suit yourself," Aphrodite murmured, no longer triumphant at the realization that Ares truly cared for Olivia Winchester and that despite his litany of denials, could not quell the overprotective, paternal part in him that loathed hearing about his little girl engaging in sexual activity with others. If she were to be honest with herself, the fact that she _knew_ Ares was in denial completely slipped her mind and she got too caught up in her selfish desire to learn about Olivia's romantic life that in the moment, much to her shame, she forgot about Ares' presence in the room.

On the other hand, Apollo swallowed a sudden lump lodged in his throat as he attempted to make sense the reason for the burgeoning knot in the pit of his stomach. ' _Why… where did_ ** _that_** _come from?_ ' he struggled to find a sensible reason, to no avail.

 **Glaring at his brother, the heat of it increasing when he identified Liv shoot Dean a grateful smile, Sam snapped, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just** ** _blatantly_** **change the subject, but I won't forget the fact that you two are keeping yet** ** _another_** **secret from me." Exhaling roughly through his nose, he answered, "There was something in her eyes. She's telling the truth. And listen to this: she heard** ** _scratching_** **on the** ** _roof_** **. Found the bloody body** ** _suspended_** **upside down over the car."**

"Is that hint supposed to mean something of great significance?" Persephone leaned forward, eyes intent on the screen as her curiosity waxed.

 **"** **Wait, the body suspended? That sounds like the-"**

 **Liv's awed whisper of, "** ** _Holy Hell_** **!" cut into whatever Dean had been about to say. Sam's head bobbed up and down, "Yeah, I know, the Hook Man legend."**

" _Shut_. _Up_!" Rachel shrieked, her expression mirroring Liv's.

Dionysus peered at the redhead from over his magazine, "Nobody said anything, Raquel."

But Rachel was too psyched to get riled. Her eyes glittered in awe and her mouth partially hung agape.

"Is this another urban legend you attempted to ensure of its veracity?" Triton drawled, appearing bored.

"No, no, nothing like that. Unlike Bloody Mary the legends didn't speak of any possible way of summoning it," Will spoke up at the realization that Rachel was devoid of any words in her shocked state. Then, the son of Apollo smacked his forehead, eyes squinted in thought, "I can't believe I didn't see this before! I _knew_ something about Rich and Lori was familiar."

Apollo cocked his head, "What do you mean, son?"

Nico's expression turned sour, fury crossing his dark eyes, "Is this about Dawn?"

Confused looks were exchanged as the demigods and Grover attempted to keep up with Will and Nico's line of thought. Nico's inquiry however, managed to snap Rachel out of her daze and her face too morphed into one of indignant rage on Dawn's behalf.

The split-second Will dipped his head in affirmative, Apollo rapidly demanded, "What _about_ Dawn?"

He may not be the best godly parent out there, but in no certain terms did that mean he didn't care about his children. Every morning, when he drove the sun around in his chariot, he ensured to maintain an eye on all his children, despite the fact he was forbidden to intervene. Currently, Dawn Richards was ten-years-old, and last he checked – before the failed summit his father arranged and the arrival of the future demigods – she was safely tucked in bed, asleep in her step-father's Mansion and blissfully ignorant of her paternity. Naturally, in the _future_ , it wasn't the case anymore and Dawn had most likely been informed of her demigod status.

"Well, uh, you see," Will shifted nervously, stumbling with his words, uncertain on how he was to proceed and break the news. To others, Apollo may appear to be one of the most laidback Olympians who didn't care much for his children, but Will knew better _and_ , upon their arrival in the past, it was starting to become crystal clear to every single demigod in the room that the gods were not as they seemed in the future. "You see uh…" he turned to Rachel, his gaze imploring.

With a huff, Rachel softly addressed her Patron, "For starters, Dawn's _gorgeous_ , I mean, well, she _does_ take after you and Mrs. Richards is a knockout. Dawn inherited a mixture of both her parents' good genes. Adding to her appearance, her step-father is _filthy rich_. He owns a chain of five-star hotels around the globe. Basically, guys flock around her, either for her, uh, well, 'cause she's gorgeous and rich, well, _you know_ …" she trailed off awkwardly, not wanting to _say_ those words out loud, especially to Apollo. The Sun God nodded sharply, bright blue eyes darkening in anger and blazing with the intent to maim or perhaps, kill. "So, um, last summer, to be very cliché, the popular jock asked her out-"

"Last _summer_?!" Apollo blurted out, a dark edge to his tone. "But that would make her _fourteen_! She's too young to date," he exclaimed and _oh_ , Artemis was _enjoying this_! Watching her philandering brother get a taste of his own medicine was karma at its finest.

Will snidely remarked, "He was _sixteen_ , too."

" _Sixteen_!" Apollo was _seething_.

Extremely uncomfortable now, Rachel pursed her lips and gestured a hand for Will to proceed. And he did… with much reluctance.

"It turned out to be a prank," Will groused through gritted teeth, blue eyes taking a menacing glint that remarkably resembled his father. "The jock _dick_ , Shane, apparently he _didn't_ break up with his cheerleader girlfriend. Betty was always jealous of Dawn's good looks, her money and lavish lifestyle. So she decided to make an example out of her. The 'popular' group-" he scathingly spat out, making quotations with his fingers, "-reenacted the urban legend of the Hook Man."

Apollo looked like he wanted nothing more than to teleport out of the room and Olympus and eradicate the group that psychologically harmed his little girl. Unfortunately, he couldn't, no thanks to the Fates.

A soothing rumble permeated the room; Poseidon had cleared his throat, the stern line of his lips bellying the kindness in his sea-green eyes that revealed that he too, conjured similar thoughts as Apollo. "And what of this urban legend? Who is this Hook Man?"

That was Rachel's cue. "It bears a few similarities to the first scene of this… _episode_. The legend begins with a teenage boy parking his car in the deserted lovers' lane to make-out with his date-" Artemis emitted an indignant noise, though she thankfully maintained her silence, knowing that Apollo was close to snapping and desired to know what exactly occurred to his daughter, "-and turned on the radio to create a nice mood. As the couple start kissing the mood is broken when mid-song, an announcer's voice blares through, his tone ominous as he warns them of a convicted murderer who had just escaped from an insane asylum, which happens to be located within a half-mile of where the boy parked. The announcer continues to describe the man, stating he had a stainless steel hook in place of his missing right hand and urges that if anyone were to see him, to immediately report his whereabouts to the police."

The redhead promptly broke off to clear her throat. Noting her discomfort, Hestia waved her hand in a half-arc and conjured a trolley with two pitchers of cool water and crystal glasses for the teenagers. Grateful, Rachel poured herself a glass, took a hearty sip and continued.

"After much convincing, the frightened girl managed to convince the boy to drop her home as they would be safer indoors and, peeved, he relented. But when they arrived at the girl's house, just as she stepped out of the car and reached to close it, she began to scream uncontrollably. …Dangling from the door handle was a bloody hook. And well, that wraps up the tale of the Hook Man," Rachel lamely concluded, shrugging a shoulder.

Exhaling and inhaling roughly from his nose, Apollo gritted out, "And _this_ was reenacted to scare Dawn?"

"Shane took her to a deserted lane, just like the legend, except they kicked it up a notch and made it so much worse," Will snarled, his bone-white fists clenching and unclenching. "Like this episode's first scene, Betty and a few jock friends of his scratched a hook against nearby signs and tree barks and, like Rich-" he absently waved at the screen, "-Shane ordered Dawn to stay in the car and lock the doors, acting like a _perfect gentlemen_ ," he sneered. "After a while of complete silence, the scratching continued and Dawn decided to search for Shane. At this point, it didn't take much to terrify her 'cause she knew she's a demigod and had been trained at Camp, so, thinking it was a monster, she realized it must be after her and Shane was out there on his own, defenseless-"

"Monsters don't attack mortals," Athena crisply interjected, though not rudely, her face shining with compassion.

Will shrugged, "She still couldn't leave Shane out there. But, like the legend, closing the door, she saw the bloody hook and freaked out. She screamed for Shane but he didn't answer. Fearing the worst, Dawn decided to risk using the phone she kept with her for extreme emergencies and call the police, but there was no signal. She then, despite not having a license or knowing the first thing about driving, chose to drive his car to the station, but it wouldn't start." He cut himself off, breathing furiously, unable to continue.

Taking pity on him, Nico squeezed his shoulder and carried on, his voice trembling with rage; he liked Dawn. Despite her upbringing, she never looked down at anybody and had a heart as pure as gold, always willing to lend a hand to those in need, and she was one of the few Nico entrusted with his homosexuality before the catastrophic incident with Cupid. "It was all a prank. They just _left her there_ in the cold, with no cell reception, no transportation, nothing, until the next morning. Mr. Richards, he, well he _forced_ – to put it kindly – the police to search for her and disregard the 24-hour rule, and they tracked her phone to the abandoned road."

Speaking up for Apollo, who's explosive rage had him devoid of words, Hermes hissed, "She wasn't _touched_ sexually, was she?!"

Even _Ares_ , the formidable god of war, flinched at the brutal growl Apollo emitted; Apollo, who looked like he was struggling to repress his godly form from unleashing.

Rachel let out a particularly vicious snort, "Shane's only good quality was his devotion to Betty. He was too faithful to her to even _think about_ touching her inappropriately."

Silence engulfed the room after the revelation. The demigods and Grover were furious on behalf of Dawn, and were beating themselves up for their ignorance. The incident occurred during Gaea's surging reign and therefore, could not be blamed. But still, it rankled knowing that a good friend of theirs had been hazed by _mortals_ who didn't know better. On the outside, it appeared as though Dawn Richards was living the dream, but in reality, she, like every single demigod, spent every second of the day at risk of losing their life by some stray monster.

After Apollo had managed to force his thoughts and quell his rage into some semblance of order and tranquility, he said, "Please tell me I did something about it or those _filthy mongrels_ were punished accordingly."

And again, Will shifted uncomfortably, averting eye contact, "You were kind of…indisposed at the time."

" _Indisposed_?" Zeus boomed, finally speaking up. "Explain!"

His demand however, was met with utter silence and Poseidon huffed, irked, "Let me guess, spoilers?"

"Yeah," Percy nervously responded. "But I promise, we'll get to that later."

Changing the topic, Rachel chirped, "But on a bright note, Shane and Betty's friends sang like a canary which allowed Mr. Richards to force the school into expelling them. Shane and Betty are in some sort of juvie."

" _Boys_!" Artemis sneered, her tongue heavy with vitriol and words laced with venom. "And you all wonder why I swore off men."

Nico frowned, eyes glowering at the goddess he hated the most, "Actually, not that I'm happy to defend him, but Shane wouldn't have done anything if it weren't for Betty. Betty asked and Shane obeyed. If anything, it's the _girl's_ fault."

Artemis scowled, fully prepared to instigate an altercation with the son of Hades and defend the honor of the female gender in general, until Hestia intervened, "Shall we proceed with the episode and argue this matter on a later hour?"

"Fine," Apollo hissed. "But we _will_ talk about this later and I want answers!"

The demigods gulped and hastened to nod in agreement. An enraged Apollo made an utterly frightening sight.

 **"** **That's one of the most famous urban legends** ** _ever_** **," Dean eagerly stated. "You don't think that we're dealing with** ** _the_** **Hook Man?"**

 **"** **I'd bet on it," Liv grinned widely. "Every urban legend has a source, don't it."**

 **Sam shook his head, torn between fondness and disbelief, "You've an unhealthy interest in urban legends. First Bloody Mary and now the Hook Man…"**

Rachel frowned. "What's wrong with that?" she asked nobody in particular, mostly speaking to herself. Like Liv, she found urban legends fascinating.

 **"** **I think it's an honor to solve those cases, put them at rest. I mean, c'mon Sam, it's a** ** _once in a lifetime opportunity_** **! How many Hunters can say they've dealt with** ** _the_** **legendary figures that made an appearance in every child's nightmares and spoken ominously over a bonfire?" Liv was practically salivating, giddy with excitement. "All I'm saying is, it'd look good in a résumé."**

Percy made a humming noise, "She's not wrong there."

 **Brows knitted together, Sam looked outrage, "Seriously? You're too invested in the hunting lifestyle, Liv."**

 **"** **Better than an apple pie life," she retorted, followed by a scathing scoff as she got worked up. Sam scowled, "You say it like it's a bad thing."**

 **A mild sneer formed on her face, "Well, maybe it is to me!"**

"Very commendable," Artemis sharply inclined her head.

However, Annabeth was disinclined to agree, "The time will come when Liv'll have to put up her gun and retire. I mean, eventually, us demigods who've managed to survive to adulthood move on to the next chapter of our lives."

"Says who?" Artemis arched a brow, a condescending lilt in her tone.

In an obvious voice, Percy said, "Uhh, _says_ those who _aren't_ immortal and _haven't_ dedicated themselves to slaughtering monsters…"

 **"** **Whoa! Back up you two!" Dean sternly interjected, green eyes narrowing at the fighting duo. "Back to the case; if it's the Hook Man, then what about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?"**

"I thought we agreed it was a ghost," Leo piped up in confusion.

Jason patted him on the back, "Yeah, _we_ did, _they_ didn't. Unlike us, they didn't witness the circumstances of Rich's death."

 **Sam tore his eyes from Liv to meet Dean's, "Well, maybe the Hook Man isn't a man at all. What if it's some kind of spirit?"**

 **The scene then forwarded; Liv, Dean and Sam sat huddled around the table when the librarian approached, placing a couple of big boxes in front of them. "Here you go. Arrest records going back to 1851," the librarian offered them a benign smile. Leaning over, Dean blew on a box, resulting in a cloud of dust and he coughed before thanking her. Smirking, Dean turned his attention to Sam, "So, this is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?"**

"Talk about a major version of Punishment," Percy histrionically expressed his horror at the thought of _that much_ research and _reading_.

Athena sneered at him, "I tire of your irritating habit of employing hyperbole."

"And I tire of your _unceasing_ need to dress down everyone but yourself," Poseidon airily retorted, his bearing lackadaisical, almost as though he were commenting on the weather. Sensing the glacial glare perforating the side of his head, the Sea God allowed sea-green to connect with flinty-gray and he smirked, "Oh, don't scowl Athena, it provokes wrinkles."

The goddess of wisdom emitted a strangled yell, most of which was drowned by the screen resuming; apparently, even the Moirai grew weary of Athena's childish and quite odious behavior.

 **Sam chuckled and grandly extended his arms out, "Welcome to higher education."**

 **Liv did a small pout, a mild whine echoing in her throat that garnered a look of pity from Dean, but all the same, she willingly reached for the closest file, rubbed her eyes, made herself comfortable by propping her legs on the table and started to leaf through it.**

"It is _the_ _height_ of bad manners to put your feet on people's tables!" Hera haughtily remarked.

Hermes hid an eye roll, "She's in a public library, Hera. It hardly belongs to anybody in particular."

The Queen of Olympus narrowed her gaze on the trickster god, her expression darkening, "Even so. It is considered _rude_ and extremely _unladylike_. It appears to me, that young Olivia has no ounce of propriety and is _hardly_ a model of rectitude." She clucked her tongue for emphasis and tossed the frozen image of Liv a nasty look that, for some _annoying_ reason Ares was in no hurry or had no interest in exploring, rankled.

"Don't be dramatic," Aphrodite batted a hand overhead, sending Hera a quick glare. "While I shall not pretend to comprehend other women's tendency to put their feet on horizontal surfaces and while I _personally_ prefer to cross my legs in utmost grace, by no means does it label these women as contumelious, merely that they prefer comfort over all.

Turning to face Annabeth with an expression of palpable confusion, Percy questionably mouthed, " _Contumelious_?"

Smiling fondly at her boyfriend and at how adorable confusion made him look, the daughter of Athena patted his hand and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Insolent. Kind of like…insulting behavior."

Thalia blinked, her features a conglomeration of ebullience and dismayed disbelief. Keeping her voice low for only her friends' ears, she murmured, "I didn't think I'd ever see the day where _I_ was in complete agreement with _Aphrodite_ of all goddesses, _and!_ would look up to her and consider her a hero."

"Stranger things have happened," Clarisse murmured back.

 **And again, the scene forwarded, and it appeared, by the looks of the Winchesters' state of dress, their weary expressions and the amount of files littered across the table that a few hours had passed.**

"Props to them. _Seriously_!" Leo gasped in potent awe.

Leo's awe however, was a pale imitation of the redhead's, who was practically _vibrating_ with excitement and impatience. "I didn't expect them to get results so soon. They're searching for the source of the Hook Man legend, meaning they're looking for _the_ Hook Man's identity. It's not gonna be a walk in the park," the redhead rapidly blurted out, emeralds locked on the screen.

 **Straightening, Sam gathered the other two's attention, "Hey, check this out. 1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes." Sliding his finger through the page, he read, "Uh, right here, "some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh."**

" _What_?" Rachel paled, her good mood diminishing at the probability that the infamous Hook Man's identity could possibly be a _preacher_.

Artemis turned her nose up, disdain prominent on her features, "I hope they rot in the Fields of Punishment! Soiling themselves, lowering themselves to such filthy carnal acts and tarnishing their reputations and those of women in general… they deserve _worse_ than a bloody death."

Hades did a double take, blankly staring at his niece.

"Don't be so crude, Artemis!" Aphrodite hissed, coming to those poor women's defense. "Most prostitutes are borne of desperation, doing what they have to do in order to maintain the essential needs to _survive_! Not all mortals are born with a golden spoon in mouth!"

Interrupting Artemis' attempt to counter back, Hades drawled in his customary oily tone, "Whoever informed you prostitutes automatically get sent to Punishment had been grossly misinformed, Artemis. Souls are judged based on their achievements and misdeeds, their sins and virtues, _not_ their hobbies and personal preferences."

"How outrageous!" Hera snarled, stating her concurrence with Artemis.

Inclining his head in his sister's direction, the Lord of the Dead impassively spoke, "You _are_ entitled to your opinion."

 **Abandoning her file, Liv propped her chin on a closed fist, "Did Karns have a hook?"**

 **Quickly skimming another page, Dean nodded, "Literally, yeah. Get this. Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook: the murder weapon."**

 **"** **Look where all this happened," Sam pointed to another page. Squinting, Liv breathlessly read, "Same place frat boy was killed. 9 Mile Road.** ** _Bingo_** **!"**

"It can't be that easy… can it?" Chris uncertainly asked the room in general.

Apollo compressed his lips in a 'so-so' gesture, "Appears to be."

 **Impressed, Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder, "Nice job, Dr. Venkmen. Let's check it out."**

Instantly understanding Dean's reference, Rachel, Percy, the Stolls, Chris, Frank, Piper and Katie burst into laughter.

At Nico's inquisitive look and arched eyebrow, Percy grinned and, between huffs of laughter, explained, "Ghostbusters."

"We really should educate you in pop culture," Apollo remarked, eyes flickering between Nico and Hazel.

Hermes wholeheartedly agreed, "Not knowing _Ghostbusters_ is a damn travesty."

Emitting a dreamy sigh, Piper wistfully declared, "Bill Murray was _such_ a hottie back then."

" _Hey_! Boyfriend in the room," Jason indignantly exclaimed.

Piper patted his cheek twice before kissing him on the same spot, "Awh, come on, Jase. Don't be a sourpuss. I'm allowed to admire from afar."

"You're admiring _a lot_ ," the son of Jupiter half-heartedly grumbled, unable to stay mad at Piper for long. ' _I am so whipped…_ '

Her contradiction was instantaneous, " _Right_ , Mr. Googly-Eyes at the mere mention of Paris Hilton."

Jason sheepishly looked away and Piper's features rearranged into a smug expression.

 **The scene cut to the exterior of Theta Sorority where a car could be seen pulling up in the driveway before shifting to its interior. "I know this is your first time really living alone since Mom died," Lori was saying.**

 **"** **That's not it. I worry about you," Reverend Sorenson insisted, his body turned to better gauge her. Indignant, Lori met her father's gaze, "There are** ** _twenty-two_** **girls in there and perfectly safe."**

"Not from a ghost they're not," Leo cut in with yet _another_ unnecessary remark.

Rolling her eyes fondly, Annabeth countered, "Yeah, but _they_ don't know that, Leo."

The twitchy son of Hephaestus shrugged sheepishly though his face was set in stubbornness.

 **"** **That's** ** _exactly_** **what I'm worried about. You don't think I know what goes on in there?"**

A skeptical noise escaped Demeter, rolling her eyes at the Reverend's paranoia, "Nothing exclusive to sororities. Whatever happens in there happens worldwide every single day."

"Bottom line, one does not have to attend a sorority or a fraternity to engage in sexual intercourse, and indulge in alcoholic beverages and narcotics," Persephone scoffed, eyes keen on her long nails that were painted an acrylic black.

Apoplectic, Aphrodite firmly asserted, "While sororities and fraternities _do_ engage in a wild, social lifestyle, you are reinforcing negative stereotypes movies are particularly fond of. A Sorority is not an institution comprised of shallow, naïve and vapid girls whose only concerns are scoring a date with as many frat boys as possible and maintaining popularity by attending parties every night. It's about the bond of sisterhood and much, _much more_."

In genuine confusion, Piper asked, "How do you know that?"

"I may have attended a couple of Sororities whenever I find myself having free time on my hands," Aphrodite purred, a secretive smile spreading on her lips.

Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus and even Hephaestus turned an inquiring eye on Ares.

Huffing, the God of War reluctantly grumbled, "Affie may have persuaded me to tag along once. Or twice."

A childish grin on her breathtaking face, Aphrodite held up nine fingers for everyone to see and waggled them. " _Nine_!" she corrected.

" _Aphrodite_!" Ares groaned, dragging a large, calloused hand down his face amidst his brothers' laughter.

 **"** **Dad, do we have to have this argument again? I'm over eighteen. I can live my own life," Lori stated in irritation. Her father's face started to redden in anger, "** ** _Oh_** **, which means drinking, partying with that roommate of yours!"**

Thalia couldn't fault the Reverend, "Lori's roommate isn't exactly the pinnacle of morality."

"She's young and in college. She shouldn't _have_ to be. That's what _growing up_ is for," Katie cheekily retorted, prompting a laugh out of Travis and the daughter of Zeus to roll her eyes.

 **Grabbing the door handle, Lori snapped, "I'm an adult. I can take care of myself. Good night." Storming out of the car, she ignored her father's pleas for her to come back and disappeared inside.**

 **The scene then cut to the Lori walking up the stairs and stopping by a doorway. The camera honed in on a long scratch on the wall, leading up to the doorway Lori stood at.**

"Is it just me or is that a freakish resemblance to the scratches made by the silver hook on the signs at the beginning?" Grover nervously muttered as he wrung his wrists.

Attempting for nonchalance, Clarisse pointed out, "A lot of sharp edges generate scratches like that."

"I don't think I'm receptive to coincidences right now, Clarisse," a hint of anxiety could be detected in Annabeth's tone.

 **Entering the room, a girl could be seen working at a computer but Lori ignored her as she continued to her bedroom. However, just as she reached over to turn on the lights, her eyes narrowed in on her roommate, fast asleep, and kept the lights off. Softly, Lori approached her bedside and called out to her, "Taylor, you awake?" Receiving no response, Lori leaves her be and ducked into the bathroom.**

Wary looks were exchanged throughout the room, and Rachel, like clockwork, said, "I have a bad feeling."

"Thanks a lot, Rachel. Now _I do_ , too!" Leo griped.

The redhead simply rolled her eyes, "No comment."

"Uh, you _just_ did," Leo cocked his head, sincerely bemused.

" _Leo_!" Rachel, Piper, Hazel and Annabeth exclaimed in fond exasperation.

Connor beamed, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at Leo's general direction, "He's worse than me, huh."

Mirth dancing in his eyes, Travis smirked at his little brother, "No comment."

" _Hey_!" Connor pouted, letting out a petulant whine.

 **The camera shifted to the 9 Mile Road where the Winchesters were stepping out of the Impala. Opening the trunk, Dean rooted through the plethora of arsenal and handed Sam and Liv a rifle each, "Here you go."**

Hera had to bite her tongue to stop herself from loudly sharing her opinion in regards to Liv handling a dangerous weapon.

On the other hand, Ares leaned forward, intrigued.

"Bullets work on ghosts?" Frank inquired, despite the fact that nobody knew the answer.

 **"** **If it is a spirit, buckshot won't do much good," Sam noted, one eyebrow raised as he scrutinized the rifle. A knowing smirk on her face, Liv plucked the rock salt pellets from Dean's hand and began loading her rifle like only an expert could, "Rock salt, Sammy-boy. Rock salt."**

" _Rock salt_!" was echoed by nearly every single inhabitant in the room, confusion surging and a small amount of skepticism.

 **Smiling proudly, Dean inclined his head towards Liv. Sam was taken aback, "Huh. Salt being a spirit deterrent."**

 **Taking out a coil of rope from the trunk, Dean nodded as he softly shut it, "Yeah. It won't kill 'em. But it'll slow 'em down." As Dean and Sam walked towards the trees, a frown emerged on Liv's face and, cocking her head to the side, without warning and without a sound, she split up from them.**

"Where is she going?!" Katie screeched in alarm.

Face impassive, Ares spat, "Idiot runt."

"I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation," Poseidon stated, throwing a disapproving frown Ares' way. "I believe she took note of something amiss. Her senses are impeccable when compared to Dean and Samuel." He subtly referred to the changes in her biology due to the ichor coursing through her veins courtesy of being the daughter of the God of War.

Displeased at the connection, Ares glowered at his favorite uncle for a beat before glaring daggers at the screen.

 **Liv's disappearance going unnoticed by the brothers, Sam made an impressive face, "That's pretty good. You and Dad think of this?"**

 **"** **I told you," Dean smugly prefaced. "You don't have to be a college graduate to be a genius."**

Ariadne appeared to be amused, "I believe the correct term is 'street smarts', yes?"

"Yeah, Percy's got 'em in spades," Thalia mocked, smirking at Percy who looked mildly affronted.

 **The camera then alternated to Liv who, after hiding her rifle behind a tree bark, threw her hands forward to slam a figure against said tree, dark mahogany eyes narrowed in suspicion, "** ** _What_** **are you doing here?!"**

 **Blinking a couple of times in surprise, Rob frowned, "** ** _Olivia_** **?"**

 **"** **In the flesh," she snarked.**

"She must have heard his footfalls," Athena remarked, impressed. She then smirked smugly at the war god, "Hmm. A 'runt' with enhanced hearing, _imagine that_."

He growled, "Shut it, Athena!"

"Forget that! What _is_ Rob doing there?" Nico demanded, his suspicious tone mimicking the Winchester girl.

 **The shot alternated back to the brothers who, upon hearing a disturbance among the trees, had finally realized Liv's absence and they stopped walking. Sam cocked his guns and exchanged a worried look with Dean as they whispered Liv's name. A figure came out of the tree: the Sheriff.**

"Ugh! Rotten luck!" Connor groaned. "I'm beginning to hate cops."

Travis nodded, "Tell me about it."

"At least Liv got away," Hazel tried looking at the bright side.

Frank shook his head, "Yeah, but for how long? She didn't go that far."

 **"** **Put your gun down now!** ** _Now_** **! Put your hands behind your head," the Sheriff bellowed. When Dean attempted to talk their way out, he firmly ordered, a menacing quality in his voice, "** ** _Now_** **get down on your knees. Come on,** ** _do it_** **! On your knees!" Sam and Dean obeyed. "Now get down on your bellies. Come on,** ** _do it_** **!"**

 **Pointing at Sam, Dean stated, "He had the gun!"**

"Is he, is he letting Sam take the fall?" Annabeth gasped, brows knit in confusion. "That's not like Dean."

His tone indifferent, Ares grunted, "Punk's got a plan in motion."

 **Back to Liv, the commotion could be heard by her and Rob. Dark mahoganies and hazel-greens collided and, just before a nearby officer stepped into their line of vision, Rob crushed his lips to hers, his hands sliding down to cup her ass and lifted her up against him. Almost reflexively, she wrapped her long legs around his waist and he flipped her around and backed her against the tree and she ground against him. All the while, they passionately kissed each other, their moans permeating the air.**

Lips parted and eyes wide, Leo breathlessly exclaimed, " _Ay dios mio_!"

"That's _hot_!" Rachel stated in a hush.

Complete bedlam ensued in the Throne Room at the heated scene.

Naturally, Aphrodite fanned herself, her pupils dilating and irises changing colors per second. Ariadne, Persephone, Amphitrite and Ariadne had similar reactions to the love goddess, though the Queens of the Sea and the Underworld raked their husbands' forms with seductive intensity, their intentions clear.

The confusticating feeling in the pit of Apollo's stomach made an abrupt reappearance, the passionate image of Liv and Rob with their lips melded together befogging his brain and blurring his vision. Confusion surged and he struggled to make sense of whatever ailed him. For a God of Knowledge, he could be so dense when it came to matters that concern himself.

Annabeth, Piper, Katie, Rachel and Clarisse blatantly stared, awe-struck; Hazel averted her eyes, a furious blush coloring her face. The boys on the other hand, gazed intently at the screen with open-mouthed wonder, their mouths dry and rendered utterly speechless.

Dionysus abandoned his magazine and shockingly enough, Hephaestus stopped tinkering, orbs focused on his brother's frozen form in veiled concern.

For his part, Ares noticeably looked as though he had been carved out of stone. He had always made it a point to steer clear of his mortal and immortal daughters when entering a courtship, not interesting in, unlike Aphrodite, witnessing some punk _touch_ his little girls – another blemish that cemented his brutal, uncaring front he portrayed to the world. Seeing that _punk_ 's hands on Olivia shocked him to the core, the shock stemming from the red haze that infiltrated his vision and his ichor boiling with raw rage. ' _I don't care what the whore does. I don't!_ ' he mentally convinced himself.

Sensing the apoplectic rage Ares was radiating, despite his impressive stone cold mask, Aphrodite contemplated awakening him from his trance, but Hermes shot her a warning look, knowing that it was best to leave the war god to his own device.

Sighing, Aphrodite turned away from her lover and, sparing Apollo a look of concerned confusion, focused back on the screen as it resumed.

 **"** **Hey-" the officer snapped his mouth shut, eyes bulging at Liv and Rob who instantly broke apart at the interruption. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Liv faked a look of mortification, "Oh, I'm, uh, well, we-"**

 **Wounding an arm around her waist, Rob smiled disarmingly, "Is there a problem, officer?"**

 **Snapping out of his shock, the officer shook his head in exasperation, "You two should clear off. I catch you two here again, I won't be as lenient. This is a crime scene not a couple hotspot."**

"Smart," Athena grudgingly admitted.

"It's one of the oldest trick in the book," Hermes chuckled. "Masquerading as a couple got them off lightly. They can't get thrown into a holding cell for being horny."

While Aphrodite agreed with Hermes, she cringed at his lack of tact and side-glanced at Ares, his stiff posture greatly unnerving her. "Public displays of affection usually make people uncomfortable," she absently informed the room, her attention mostly on Ares.

"I can't wait to see how Dean and Sam gets out of this mess," Connor was practically brimming with enthusiasm.

Annabeth shook her head in disbelief, "I'm sorry, I just, I can't get my mind off this Rob Cruise guy. I mean, _where_ did he come from, why's he there… doesn't this strike _anyone_ as odd?"

Amphitrite hummed in acknowledgement, "I'm certain Olivia will demand answers. Just have patience, dearie."

 **The scene then cut to Lori and Taylor's bedroom.**

"What!? _No_! I wanna hear the confrontation between Liv and Rob," Annabeth huffed, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at the screen.

Dionysus rolled his eyes, magazine still abandoned, "Do you not know what 'patience' means, Annie Bell?"

She threw him the stink-eye.

 **Lori emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas, glanced briefly at Taylor as she shifted in her sleep, and then slid into bed. The camera rotated until it stopped at the closet that had been left ajar and zoomed in on the silhouette of the Hook Man.**

Leo yelped in alarm, "Holy Macaroni!"

The son of Jupiter did a double take, bemused at his best friend's odd phrasing before he shook his head, deciding he _really_ didn't want to know.

"I don't like this," Hazel whimpered, leaning into Frank and taking solace in the comforting warmth he radiated. He stroked her arms in a soothing upward and downward motion and planted his chin on the top of her head.

Rachel stared imploringly at her Patron, "You think the Hook Man's after Lori?"

Apollo, who had been out of sorts for quite a while, snapped back to the present, his posture tense but his expression soft, "I don't know. Probably. Maybe it wants to finish the job, leave no witness alive, that sort of thing."

"Since when do ghosts care about witnesses?" Chris voiced his confusion.

Travis shrugged, unable to help but point out, "Since when are we ghost experts."

"Touché," Connor smirked, the smile of self-satisfaction insincere as his fear bled through.

 **Just as the screen turned black, it brightened, the camera still portraying Lori and Taylor's bedroom in the morning. Lori rolled over in bed and slowly, her eyes fluttered open, immediately narrowing in on a puddle of blood accumulating on the floor. The camera panned upwards to show blood dripping from Taylor's bed. Blood was spilled everywhere and Taylor was dead.**

"Oh _gods_!" Annabeth, Thalia, Hazel, and Piper gasped while Katie and Rachel clapped a hand over their mouths and Clarisse clutched her boyfriend's forearm in a vice grip, all seven girls portraying various expressions of horror.

Demeter's orbs shone with moisture, "That poor girl."

"Why didn't the Hook Man go after Lori, why Taylor?!" Nico demanded, unconsciously gravitating towards Will.

Contemplation colored Apollo's handsome features as he mulled it over. Finally, he snapped his fingers, "All I can say, is it definitely has something to do with Lori. First her boyfriend then her roommate and on both accounts, Lori was physically at the scene, and yet, the spirit chose to leave her unharmed."

"This is no coincidence," Hades inclined his head towards Apollo. "This mortal girl is somehow involved."

Grasping onto his father's words like an anchor, relief shone in Nico's dark orbs at the familiarity of the spirit, "So Lori summoned the ghost and ordered it to kill them, is that it?"

Hades spared Nico a commiserating look, comprehending his son's difficulty in adjusting to the altered facts. "No, I'm afraid not, Nico. For some confounding reason, this spirit favors Lori Sorenson. Why? I cannot tell you," he sorrowfully informed him.

 **"** **Oh my God," Lori screamed. Wide, horrified orbs latched onto the wall near Taylor's bed where the words: "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?" was written in blood, and underneath, there was a large cross encompassed by four smaller crosses. Another scream emanated from her lips and the screen turned black.**

Rachel was full on frowning, mouthing the words written on the wall like a mantra.

"Rach, _stop that_. I'm already creeped out," Percy complained.

The redhead shook her head, hands sliding into her hair as her frown deepened, "But that doesn't make _any_ sense. 'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light' is a completely unrelated urban legend. I just, I don't _get how_ the two are related!"

"Maybe they _are_ interrelated," Hecate reasoned, index and middle fingers stroking her lower lip. "Mayhap it is the Hook Man's modus operandi and throughout the years, it got lost in translation and they became two separate urban legends."

Annabeth nodded to herself, Hecate's deduction sounding sensible. "That's possible," she murmured.

"Myths, legends and even history, their re-interpretation are often distorted and regarded as inaccurate," Apollo matter-of-factly revealed.

Lips quirked in amusement, Katie said, "Wow, you totally ruined history for me."

 **The scene opened, the camera immediately focusing on Liv as she strode towards the police station.**

"I don't understand. It looks like Dean and Sam spent the night in jail," Percy pointed out, forehead burrowing in confusion.

Hera, who was sick and tired of the incessant, inane interruptions, venomously snarled, "And I don't understand why all of you must persist on interrupting! At this rate we'll _never_ conclude the Fates' mission."

And to the Queen of Olympus' frustration, the demigods blatantly ignored her. Annabeth craned her neck to meet her boyfriend's gaze, "What don't you understand?"

"Why, _I never_ …" gasping, Hera trailed off in shock, grossly offended.

"Liv. Where was she? Did she confront Rob? Why didn't she follow Dean and Sam and bail them out like Sam did for her and Dean. Why wait till morning? See what I mean… there are too many inconsistencies," Percy ranted, not pausing for a short breather as he whipped out question after question.

Thalia _really_ wanted to make a snarky comment and tease Percy about using big words. However, seeing genuine frustration on his features, she instead adopted a soothing tone and reasoned, "Like we mentioned before, it's not like we can observe every single second of the Winchesters' lives, just the important highlights. I'm sure it'll make sense soon enough."

 **"** ** _Cher_** **!" Whipping around, Liv scowled at the sight of Rob jogging over to her. One hand on her hip, she marched two steps forward and poked his chest hard with the index finger of her other hand, "What** ** _are_** **you doing here?!"**

 **Smirking, he spoke in a tone that screamed 'obvious', "You ran off last night before I had a chance to explain."**

"That's one question answered," Thalia smirked at Percy.

Hermes tilted his head, "Her concern for Dean and Sam must have outweighed her need for answers. Rob's presence at the 9 Mile Road is _extremely_ suspicious."

 **"** **What exactly you planning on explainin'? How you knew I'd be here, or who you** ** _really_** **are, 'cause I don't have time to listen to your excuses," Liv snapped, eyes intent and furious.**

"Wait, _what_!" Nico exclaimed, his shock mirrored by nearly everyone in the room.

Aphrodite's perfectly sculpted eyebrows threatened to disappear under her hairline, "His name _isn't_ Rob Cruise?"

"What on earth would make her come to such a conclusion?" Demeter rhetorically inquired.

 **He looked taken aback for a brief moment before his cocky smirk reappeared. Hazel-greens appraised her, "I underestimated you."**

 **"** **A lot of people tend to do that," she snippily retorted. Chuckling, he carded a hand through his hair and nodded to himself, "I knew the first thing on your agenda would be to bust your cousins out. I've been waiting for you to show."**

"Cousins…" Grover nervously trailed off, meeting Percy's gaze. "He knows."

"How in Tartarus' name did he know that?" Rachel exclaimed, disbelief seeping into her tone. "They didn't let anything slip around him. Come to think of it, most of his interactions with the Winchesters was Liv, and always alone."

Hera sneered at them, still furious at their lack of respect to her person, "If you stop blabbering on and on about utter claptrap, wasting our time, then we can find out."

While Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek to repress a scathing remark, Thalia had to _literally_ pinch her lips shut to trap the insult she yearned to volley at her step-mother from hell.

 **Liv did a double take, wide eyes staring, "How did you know?"**

 **"** ** _Please_** **," he emphasized the word as though Liv was being ridiculous, smirk fixed in place. "Black '67 Chevrolet Impala," he arched a brow, eyes twinkling with mischief. "It's common knowledge John Winchester drove that Impala before he passed it on to his eldest son. The moment I saw you by that car, I knew who you were, though we've never met before now, Olivia Winchester."**

 **A calculating glint passed through Liv's eyes, "Common knowledge in the** ** _Hunter_** **community. You're a hunter, aren't you?"**

"The puzzle pieces are connecting," Persephone commented, shaking her head at herself.

Percy stared at the screen, mouth agape, "Now it all makes perfect sense… why 'Rob' was at that road, why he seemed suspicious. He's a _hunter_!"

Artemis looked conflicted, "Is Olivia the _only_ female hunter?"

"I'm certain there are plenty of female hunters, Artie," Apollo comforted her.

Her smile lasted no longer than three seconds before it vanished and she scowled at her twin, "Stop calling me _Artie_!"

Lips parted, ready to divulge pertinent information that would no doubt comfort his sister, after a moment of pondering it over, Ares opted to keep his mouth shut and keep the truth to himself a while longer. Since the Fates' appearance and the Winchesters' introduction, he was beginning to vividly recall events and see things in a clearer light… and as the dots connected, Ares was now 98% certain that Victoria Winchester was a Hunter and not _just_ a mere hippy Nurse.

 **But instead of answering, 'Rob' deflected with a question of his own, "How'd you know I gave you a fake name?"**

 **Rolling her eyes, Liv gestured for him to walk alongside her and the two leisurely walked forward, "Frat boys don't care for names, just numbers. When you didn't bother to hit on me, I knew."**

"That's _not_ true!" Chris snapped, offended on behalf of the male gender.

In return, Clarisse, Annabeth, Rachel and Thalia stared at him, an expectant brow raised and their lips pursed.

Reluctantly, Chris huffed, "Okay, so _maybe_ she's not completely wrong. But not _all_ guys are like that!" He indignantly added.

Clarisse patted his arm and smiled, "Of course not. Otherwise, I wouldn't be with you."

"Damn soap opera," Ares grumbled under his breath, glaring heavily at his daughter and her punk boyfriend's direction until Aphrodite smacked him and forcefully shifted his attention elsewhere.

 **The camera alternated to Dean and Sam, both of whom were leaving the station.**

Confused, Connor asked, "Did they make bail?"

Flapping her hand at him in a hushing gesture, Rachel snapped, "Who cares! I wanna know Rob's real name!"

" _And_ watch him interact more with Liv. See about those flying sparks," Katie added with a wink, rubbing her hands together in eager anticipation.

Piper rolled her eyes, "I swear, sometimes I doubt Demeter's your mother. Sometimes, the way you act, you'd make a _perfect_ daughter of Aphrodite."

Giggling, Katie's head rapidly conveyed a negative, "I'd slaughter your half-siblings if I were to stay in the same cabin as them."

As Piper laughed, believing Katie was making some witty joke, Travis solemnly cut in with an abrupt, "She's not kidding," prompting Piper's laughter to die.

 **"** **Saved your ass!" Dean was saying, expression way too smug to be legal. "Talked the Sheriff down to a fine. Dude, I am Matlock."**

 **"** **But how?" Sam inquired in confusion.**

At the same time, Percy, Nico, Hazel, the Stolls and Leo asked, their state of confusion on par with Sam, " _Matlock_?"

Absentmindedly, Thalia flicked a hand and made a swishing noise, "He's a criminal defense lawyer called Ben Matlock in a television show _called_ Matlock. You guys probably haven't heard of it 'cause it first aired in '86 and ended around uh, '94 or '95…" She trailed off, chin propped on her hand as she contemplated it, "Yeah, '95."

"It was '95," Apollo assured her with a grin.

A frown materialized on Annabeth's face. "I thought you didn't watch much television," she asked.

Attempting to appear nonchalant, Thalia shrugged a shoulder and pointedly looked away, burning a hole through the screen, "Didn't have much to do with an unstable, absentee mother and all." Sensing concerned looks sent her way, she harrumphed, "Whatever, I'm over it."

Zeus shifted uncomfortably as he was hit with a sudden surge of guilt and remorse. Thankfully, no more words were spoken regarding the subject of Beryl Grace and the episode resumed, filling in the awkward tension that consumed the room.

 **Smirking, Dean patted him on the back, "I told him you were a dumbass pledge and that we were hazing you."**

 **"** **What about the shotgun?" Sam pressed on. But Dean's smirk didn't waver, "I said that you were hunting ghosts and the spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank."**

Laughter rang in the room, Hermes, the Stolls and Chris the most prominent.

"Sometimes the truth can make the best lie," Hermes pointed out, a Cheshire smile on his handsome face.

 **Baffled and slightly impressed, Sam demanded, "And he believed you?"**

 **"** **Well, you look like a dumbass pledge," Dean's smirk however, fell when his eyes landed on Liv, relief palpable until his gaze flickered to 'Rob' and his jaw clenched. Elbowing Sam, he wordlessly gestured at the duo and, Sam's expression turning stern, they determinedly strode towards them, just in time to hear 'Rob' telling Liv, "About that kiss-"**

 **"** ** _What_** ** _kiss_** **?" Dean barked, glaring daggers at 'Rob'.**

Artemis produced a skeptical noise, "Oh, so Dean _is_ capable of being strict. Good to know."

 **Liv rolled her eyes and mockingly said, "Oh, Liv, hey. We were worried about you. How was your night? Fine, how was yours-"**

 **"** **Don't be smart," Sam interjected, suspicious eyes never leaving 'Rob's' laidback expression. "** ** _What_** ** _kiss_** **?!"**

 **Parting her lips, the glare on her face signifying the start of a new argument, 'Rob' intruded, smiling winsomely at the overprotective brothers.**

"He must either be very brave or extremely stupid," Apollo noted; Dean and Sam vividly reminded him of the times when he went into a fit of overprotective rage whenever it came to Artemis and his mother, nearly every single incident concluding with a string of dead bodies or cursed individuals.

Eyeing 'Rob's' imposing biceps the tight Henley failed to shield as it hugged his form, and his well-defined figure, Aphrodite licked her lips, "I'm certain this mortal can more than take care of himself."

"You can at least _try_ to hide the fact that you're _blatantly_ ogling him, Aphrodite," Hera sneered, disapproval etched on every inch of her face.

Arching a sculpted eyebrow at her in-law from Tartarus, the love goddess huffed out a laugh, "And why ever would I do that? Nothing wrong with admiring a man's assets, Hera, I'm only looking. Contrary to your frigid beliefs, it _isn't_ a crime."

Athena emitted a vulgar snort.

Disregarding the disdainful glares Artemis, Hera and Athena were penetrating her with, Aphrodite leaned into Ares' embrace and murmured, "I'm _certain_ this mortal has been blessed by me."

 **"** **It's my fault, guys. I used the kiss to distract strategy last night. I was banking on the cops letting us off lightly if they believed we were a couple, I meant no disrespect," his hands were extended in a peaceful gesture and the brothers' glares softened,** ** _slightly_** **. Liv on the other hand, looked like she was sucking on a lemon.**

Reluctantly impressed, Hera said, "At least this one's got manners."

"Olivia looks incredibly displeased," Ariadne casually observed, a small frown materializing between her brows.

 **Still suspicious, Sam snappishly inquired, "What were you doing there, anyways?! Stalking Liv?"**

 **In response, 'Rob' chuckled and clapped his hands together, "I believe we got off on the wrong foot here. As Cher accurately deduced, my name** ** _isn't_** **Rob Cruise." A hand on his chest, fingers splayed, he introduced himself with a mischievous grin, "Clay Warren at your service. If it weren't for that Impala I wouldn't have recognized you boys. Sam, you sure gave Bigfoot a run for 'is money, aye."**

"Clay Warren?" the name caressed Aphrodite's tongue and she beamed. "I like it. It suits him. Much better than Rob Cruise," she wrinkled her nose. Just as suddenly, her mood took an abrupt turn as her expression morphed into one of deep contemplation, "I sense the name 'Warren' should mean something to me… something of import…" She trailed off in confusion.

Leaving the love goddess to her inner thoughts, Poseidon pointed out, "It appears this Clay Warren has a past with the Winchester family."

"It makes sense. Dean _did_ recognize him, didn't he? He just could remember the How or Where," Apollo stated.

Giggling, Rachel said, "Winchester and Warren… or Warren and Winchester. Sounds like a Law Firm or the title of a kickass crime-solving show."

A plethora of eyes rolled at the whimsical and extremely capricious redhead.

 **"** **Warren-" Dean cut himself off, eyes widening in realization. "I had a feeling I knew you from somewhere, it's been,** ** _wow_** **, I haven't seen you in** ** _ages_** **."**

 **Clay inclined his head, "Almost sixteen years, give or take."**

Hermes whistled, "That's a long time."

"Anyone find it odd they haven't seen each other since Liv was born?" Nico asked the room in general, his question mostly hypothetical.

Looks were exchanged, the coincidence appearing _very odd_.

"Come to think of it… yeah," Percy pursed his lips.

 **"** **Wait, hold on! You two** ** _know_** **each other?" Liv demanded, her shocked confusion echoed by Sam. Clay smirked and nodded matter-of-factly, "Oh yeah. Sam here was too young to remember-" he then met Sam's curious gaze, "-my old man and yours go** ** _way_** **back. They were childhood friends and joined the Marine Corps together. In fact, they were hunting partners for a time, used to bring Dean and then Sammy here over when he needed a babysitter."**

 **Dean rolled his eyes, lips quirking in a fond smile, "Dude, you're a year older than me."**

 **"** **Still counts for something, eh?" he grinned, taking Dean's proffered hand and vigorously shaking it before bringing him in for a manly hug.**

"That was the last thing I expected," Will confessed.

Frank nodded, "I know! I wonder what happened that made them grow apart."

"And who said they did?" Persephone raised a brow at the son of Mars. "Such a conjecture was not explicitly stated. John Winchester and the Warren patriarch must still be in touch."

"Speaking of," Demeter prefaced, eyes alight with curiosity. "I wonder _why_ Olivia's birth correlates with the last time Clay Warren interacted with Dean and Samuel. I refuse to believe it the result of a coincidental act. There is something missing here, a crucial connection."

Apollo wholeheartedly agreed, "I've been thinking along the same lines, Auntie."

"Be that as it may," Zeus decided to let himself be heard and cut into the brainstorming before his cantankerous wife demanded silence. "We shan't find out unless the Fates will it."

 **"** **How's your old man?" Dean asked as Clay shook Sam's hand and Liv purposely turned her back on him and sidled to Dean's side. Grinning apologetically at Liv, which she rudely ignored, Clay turned his focus on the brothers, "Worried actually." At their confused expressions, he stressed, "About you. My reason for being here isn't for the case, guys. Ever since the start of November, Dad's been diligent in finding you three since John's gone AWOL. Mom's on phone duty, calling Dad, my brothers and myself with various hunts. We split up, searching the entire damn country for your whereabouts. Yesterday, called the 'rents, let 'em know I got my sights on you and that you're alive and well."**

"That's so _sweet_!" Ariadne cooed, large eyes unblinkingly trained on the screen, and she smiled fondly at the frozen image of Clay Warren.

Rachel cocked her head to the side, "It sounds like a family dynamic."

Percy scoffed, an obstinate set to his features, "Family doesn't abandon family. _Sixteen years_!? I don't think there's a good enough reason for them abandoning the Winchesters for that long."

" _Gods_ , Perce. Why do you _always_ have to be so touchy and sensitive whenever family's involved?" Thalia demanded in irritation.

A prominent scowl on his face, the son of Poseidon callously retorted, "Dunno. Why do you always have to be so _cold_ and closed off whenever family's involved?"

" _Dunno_ ," the daughter of Zeus imitated him, her tone scathing.

"Can you guys stop fighting," Nico groaned, rolling his eyes at them.

Glaring at him, Percy and Thalia simultaneously exclaimed, "Shut it, Death Breath!"

Grumbling unintelligible words under his breath, Nico turned his back on them, not in the mood to instigate an argument with the belligerent duo that had a lot in common than they liked to admit.

 **Grumbling, Dean groused out, "It was a damn shapeshifter."**

 **"** **Figured," Clay's concern morphed into a smirk as he patted Dean on the shoulder. "Anyways, now that I've found you, the search's called off and we can go back to hunting monsters instead of hunting Winchesters."**

"It's obvious the Warren family cares for Dean, Sam and Liv," Annabeth randomly stated in hopes of calming Percy. "They spent _months_ running all round the United States searching for them _just_ to ensure they're safe without John around. That must mean something."

Grudgingly, Percy grumbled, "I guess."

Thalia scoffed, "How eloquent of you."

"Okay, that's it! Thals, turn around and mind your own business," Annabeth snapped in an authoritative voice. "Stop trying to start a fight. Jason," she pointedly gestured at Thalia and the son of Jupiter grimaced in understanding; he began whispering in her ear, to which Thalia was incredibly unresponsive.

Every time Beryl Grace's name or even the subject of her was brought up, however brief, Thalia would become closed off and too bitchy to handle.

 **Dean rolled his eyes, "Funny." He suddenly frowned, "Wait, that doesn't sound like the Camilla I vaguely remember. Since when's Cami okay with sitting around and doing nothing?"**

 **Liv and Sam's confusion intensified at the unfamiliar name.**

 **Clay chuckled, his eyes slightly rolling upward, "Mom had no choice. If she stayed in then Little Luce wouldn't have an excuse for sneaking out." At Dean's raised brow, he elucidated, "Lucy, the youngest and** ** _last_** **Warren."**

"Camilla Warren," Aphrodite murmured to herself, her frown becoming more pronounced as the name rolled off her tongue.

Concerned, Ares grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers, "Affie, my love, what is it?"

"Just a feeling…" she cryptically responded.

 **"** **Whoa. Dad didn't mention you have a sister.** ** _Figures_** **," Dean snorted, more to himself. Sam decided to cut in, eyes intense, "You have any idea where our father is?"**

 **But Clay's sorrowful expression said it all and at that exact moment, several officers ran out of the building behind them and sped off in police cars. The four hunters exchanged a meaningful look as the setting abruptly changed.**

"Poor Taylor," Hazel murmured, sad eyes riveted at the screen.

 **Lori sat at the back of a parked ambulance in front of the Sorority, huddled in a blanket, her face red and puffy with tears. The shot zeroed in on the Impala as it drove by, the Winchesters assessing the scene before it focused on the Reverend. "I just want to take her home," he told the Sheriff.**

 **"** **I understand that, Reverend," the Sheriff calmly responded. "But Lori's now connected to** ** _two_** **murders, and I can't ignore that."**

"The follies of mortals," Dionysus hummed, engrossed in a certain article proclaiming the opening of a winery in Orland Park, Illinois.

Emerald orbs penetrated the wine god. "The Sheriff's going by the book. You can't blame him! It _does_ look suspicious," Rachel snapped, a tad defensive on the Sheriff's behalf.

"Yeah, but Lori's innocent!" a pouting Leo reminded her.

Mentally facepalming, the Oracle let out an exasperated breath, incredulous orbs fixated on Leo, " _We_ know that. _They_ do not!"

 **Determined, the Reverend straightened his posture and glared at the Sheriff, "Listen to me. Arrest her now, or let me take her home."**

 **The Sheriff paused for a moment before giving a short nod, "Make sure she's available for questioning." The Reverend thanked him, approached Lori and the two left the scene, the shot focusing on the Winchesters, the Impala parked on another street.**

" _Hey_!" Katie pouted at the screen, a line forming between her brows. "Where'd Clay go?"

Travis glared at his girlfriend, a barely audible huff of irritation escaping him.

In agreement with Katie – ' _He is really good-looking!_ ' – Nico attempted for nonchalance, shrugging a shoulder to good effect, "He _did_ say it wasn't his hunt, right? That he stationed himself in town in case the Winchesters showed. Now that he found them, he probably left."

" _Dang it_!" Rachel whined, blinking sadly at the screen. "He was so _good_ to look at."

Annabeth, Piper and Clarisse nodded wholeheartedly, "Tell me about it."

"Boyfriends _in_ the room!" Percy half-heartedly announced, index finger pointing at, first himself, then the others.

The love goddess observed the interaction occur with fond eyes.

 **The trio clambered out of the car and started to walk until they stopped at the back of the sorority.**

 **"** **Why would the Hook Man come here? This is a long way from 9 Mile Road," Sam voiced his suspicions, gaze flickering between Liv and Dean.**

Emitting a particularly loud exhalation of breath, Hades drawled, "Perhaps this… _ghost_ -" his nose wrinkled in distaste, "-appeared due to a summoning. It would explain its ability to wander between locations."

"Like Bloody Mary," Persephone hypothesized.

Hades inclined his head in silent agreement.

 **"** **Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it's something else," Dean suggested, just as two sorority girls exit the side entrance. Dean, Sam and Liv positioned themselves behind some bushes to remain unseen, eyes sharp. "Dude, sorority girls!" Dean eagerly exclaimed, eyes alight. "Think we'll see a naked pillow fight?"**

Artemis emitted a strangled noise, expression apoplectic as she glared daggers at Dean. " _Jackalope_ ," she hissed under her breath.

 **Liv pulled a face, "** ** _Eugh_** **, I hope not." before smacking Dean lightly, her tone fond, "You're incorrigible."**

"That's _all_!" the goddess of the hunt shrieked, fist formed and index finger wagging accusatorily at the screen. "That's _all_ she has to say?!"

Aphrodite fluffed her golden, tightly coiled curls, her eyes staring heavenwards in annoyed exasperation, "Don't be such a prude, Artemis."

" _Prude_ -, _"I_!" spluttering in deep affront, a hand pressed against her chest, the auburn-haired demigod made quite an amusing sight, her thirteen-year-old features contorted in profound apoplexy. "I am merely-"

Cutting in, hands waving manically, Dionysus drolly commented, "Oh, oh, allow me to wager a guess. You were merely stating a _fact_!?"

Silver moon-like orbs narrowed, lips compressed mulishly and arms crossed. " _No_. I am merely _expressing_ my distaste and my disappointment," she ground out, daggers alternating between Dionysus and Aphrodite as she took in turn to glare at them.

"We do not need a rundown commentary, Artemis, _darling_ ," the love goddess purred. "Every soul in this room are aware of where you stand on the subject of flirtations and innuendos; we need not hear more."

" _Shall we proceed_!" Hestia interjected, pointedly staring at Aphrodite and Artemis to back down.

 **Dean smirked, his demeanor sheepish and giving him her back, Liv balanced herself as she began climbing onto the balcony. Dean offered a slight push and she stealthily entered Lori's room through the window. Gathering herself, Liv managed to take a few steps forward before Sam and Dean joined her, toppling over each other and hitting the ground. "Oh, sorry," the eldest Winchester grunted.**

 **"** **Be quiet," Sam hissed.**

 **"** **You be quiet!" Dean retorted. Bitch face in place, Sam glared, "** ** _You_** **be quiet!"**

 **Making a sharp quieting motion with her hand, Liv snapped, "** ** _Both of you_** **be quiet!"**

Laughter ensued at the amusing scene, the sibling banter and the fact that Liv was taking charge a nice change.

"Oh, how they amuse me so," Demeter giggled.

The demigods couldn't help but draw parallels between them and Percy, Thalia and Nico, which only prompted their laughter to escalate.

 **The scene forwarded; the Winchesters stood in Lori's room, no longer stealthy upon observing the Sheriff leave the scene. The trio stared at the crude writing on the wall, Sam reading aloud, "'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?' That's right out of the legend."**

 **Dean nodded grimly, "Yeah, that's classic Hook Man all right." He then tapped his nose, "It's definitely a spirit."**

"So the Hook Man legend and _that one_ ," Rachel tossed a hand at the screen's direction where the shot had paused on the bloody writing on the wall. " _Are_ interrelated… how come?"

Smiling kindly, Hecate addressed her, "With the Winchester's profession, they must be adept at research, young girl. The dissection of legends and such must be a walk in the park for them."

"They probably have access to old tomes and books that had been long lost and forgotten throughout the centuries," Apollo hypothesized, lips quirking at the hungry gleam that passed through Athena and Annabeth's identical gray orbs. "It's not a farfetched thought."

Rachel shook her head in awe, "I would _love_ to get my hands on them. The study of urban legends and the like is a hobby of mine."

Apollo scrutinized his Oracle with mirthful eyes, his smile fond. ' _She really is a unique Oracle…_ '

 **"** **Yeah, I've never smelled ozone this strong before," Sam commented before beckoning his brother and cousin over, his shrewd brown eyes never leaving the writing on the wall. He pointed at the symbol of the large cross that was encompassed by four smaller crosses, "Does that look familiar to you?"**

 **Hand lifting to clench a fist around her crucifix necklace, Liv gasped, "It's a Jerusalem cross; the same symbol as Karns'!"**

"I must say, for a high school dropout, Olivia is quite an educated child," Athena admitted, her lips pursed.

Connor rapidly bobbed his head, "Especially for someone impeded by dyslexia and ADHD."

"Impeded? Sneak in a dictionary after dinner?" Thalia smirked.

The younger Stoll responded by sticking his tongue out.

"No, but seriously…" Thalia's smirk remained firmly in place, electric orbs assessing him.

Harrumphing, Connor pouted and tightened his arms across his chest, "I _can be_ smart, you know. No, scratch that; I _am_ smart."

"When he wants to be," Katie pointed out, mid-giggle.

"Yea _hhey_!" Connor halfheartedly glared at his brother's girlfriend.

 **The scene shifted to portray Dean, Sam and Liv standing by the Impala, and staring at their research, the camera honing in on a picture of the Jerusalem cross. Sam tapped a finger against it and smiled at Liv, "You're right. It's the** ** _same_** **symbol. Seems like it** ** _is_** **the spirit of Jacob Karns."**

 **"** **Man! Is it totally wrong for me to feel excited at the prospect of meeting him?" Liv's genuine smile looked painful as it spread across her face, eyes shining in awe. "I mean, yeah, don't get me wrong, violent spirit and all, he's definitely gotta go. But… he's** ** _the_** **Hook Man!"**

Practically salivating, a giddy Rachel fervently nodded, "I'm totally with her on this!" Staring around the room at the various amused, impassive and disbelieving expressions, most of which were aimed at her, the redhead breathlessly inquired, "You think a spirit would show in pictures?"

Eyebrows arched in a mixture of amusement and incredulity, Percy asked, "Please don't tell me you're _actually_ thinking of posing beside some murderous spirit and taking a picture with it?!"

"Percy, it's not just _any_ spirit. It's _the_ Hook Man," and the Oracle sounded eerily like Liv Winchester at that moment, it was uncanny.

Thalia, eyes wide, shook her head, "No comment."

"Crazytown," Clarisse mumbled. "Emphasis on _crazy_."

" _Anyways_!" Piper spoke up, meeting a pair of emerald orbs. "I think you're confusing Count Dracula with spirits."

Rachel shrugged a shoulder, "At this point, _anything's_ possible."

 **Dean stared at her with slightly wide eyes, "There's something** ** _seriously_** **wrong with you, Liv." Clapping his hands together and disregarding her indignant huff, he stated, "All right, let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down."**

"His matter-of-fact reference to grave desecration gives me the heebie-jeebies," Katie murmured, speedily rubbing both arms in an effort to eliminate her goosebumps.

His entire form twitching, Leo sarcastically said, "Perks of the job."

 **Squinting at the page, Sam read, "After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an** ** _unmarked_** **grave…" He concluded through gritted teeth, looking upwards in annoyance to meet Dean and Liv's gaze, their expressions identical to his.**

"Like I said, _perks_ of the job," Leo parroted, shaking his head in a forlorn manner. "The poor sods."

Blinking his shock away, Jason inquired, "They're not _actually_ gonna dig up every unmarked grave in the vicinity and hope they hit jackpot, are they?"

The sun god's head unwittingly shook in a negative demeanor from the moment Jason opened his mouth. "Even if they _do_ , which I very much doubt, the endeavor would be a bust. At this point in time, Jacob Karns has been dead for nearly a century and a half, meaning he's decomposed into skeleton, and therefore, any distinguishing features would be long gone."

"Damn!" Frank swore.

A smile slowly materialized on Aphrodite's face, "I have full confidence in the Winchesters' abilities. I am _certain_ they will find a way."

 **"** **Super," came Dean's sarcastic drawl.**

 **Dragging a hand through her hair, Liv, her ebullience having melted to dejection, attempted to look at the bright side. "At least we know the Hook Man's identity right? And, while we don't know where he'll manifest next or even why, we** ** _do know_** **he has a habit of sticking too close to Lori for comfort. So, we start there," she concluded, her confidence making a comeback.**

"Genius," Poseidon beamed. A part of him was envious of Ares – his idiot nephew didn't have a slight inkling of just _how_ _lucky_ he was to have Olivia Winchester for a daughter. However, sea-green gaze traveling between Triton and Percy, he leaned back in his throne and felt pride engulf him, and he realized that while he may have a small handful of children, each and every one of them were special in their own way, a hero in their own right, and he couldn't ask for more.

 _Yes, Poseidon, God of the Sea, King of Atlantis, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, was a proud father._

"She is, isn't she?" Aphrodite's expression mirrored Poseidon's; anyone could easily make the mistake of believing _Aphrodite_ was the girl's mother, her behavior one of potent pride and eyes brimming with exceptional love.

Ares rolled his eyes. "Even a runt has it's moments," he grudgingly commented, tongue vitriolic and unforgiving, allowing Olivia no mercy.

"You're a very _bitter_ man," Demeter hissed, disappointment etched across her face as she solemnly held her nephew's gaze.

"I'm a _god_!" he sharply retorted, sockets ablaze – _literally_.

Not the least bit intimidated and unwilling to back down, Demeter sniped back, "And yet _still_ a man."

 **Pride vivid in his green eyes, Dean nodded, head inclined in Liv's direction. Perky all of a sudden, Liv reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, she handed it over to her cousins, "Swiped that from Lori's room. There's a chance she might be there tonight."**

 **The camera zoomed in on the flyer, announcing a college party that night. The Winchesters then got into the car and the screen turned black.**

"Somehow I doubt Lori shall make an appearance. Her friend died that very day, she wouldn't indulge in such a rowdy event so soon. Tis disrespectful," Amphitrite uttered, a deep frown on her face at the mere thought.

Persephone however, disagreed. "She's a teenager, Phi. Their minds work in mysterious ways," she pointed out.

Nodding, Piper said, "Lori could make an appearance to distract herself from the deaths of her boyfriend and friend. Probably go to get drunk and simply forget."

"Besides," Thalia snorted. "Deducing Taylor's personality, I'm pretty sure she'd egg Lori into going. Lori attending that party might be in honor of her."

Hazel rolled her eyes at the daughter of Zeus, "You really didn't like her, huh."

"She's insensitive," was Thalia's short response.

"Wow, talk about speaking ill of the dead," Nico stated, dark orbs intent on his cantankerous cousin.

Defensive, Thalia countered, "Technically, she isn't dead… _yet_."

 **The camera opened on the college party; bright, glowing lights cutting into the dark setting, tight crowd, loud music, animated dancing. It then focused on Sam approaching Dean and Liv, a scowl marring his face as he glared at the plastic cup in the latter's hand, "Are you** ** _drinking_** **?"**

 **"** **Hello to you too, Sammy-boy," Liv shot back with a half-roll of her eye before she defiantly chugged the entire drink down. "You're** ** _not_** **my father, so stop acting like it."**

"He really is a party pooper," Connor observed, displeased with Sam.

Chris nodded, "More like a Debbie Downer."

"She _is_ underage," Annabeth hesitantly pointed out.

Of course, the daughter of Athena's comment prompted loud, cynical scoffs from her friends, all of them – barring Hazel – staring at her in amusement and disbelief.

"Please, Annie. Like you haven't broken the law before," Thalia judged, eyebrow arched.

Percy repressed a smirk, "I had my first taste of beer at twelve. That's way younger than Liv."

"Enough _chinwag_!" Hera screeched, her tone deafening and the demigods couldn't help but resemble the irksome noise to nails on a blackboard. "Let us _proceed_!"

Cue glares of hatred pinpointed at the least favored goddess.

 **Changing the subject, Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder, a wide smile on his handsome face, "Man, you've been holding out on me. This college thing is** ** _awesome_** **!" Further proving his point, he winked and smiled at a passing girl. Sam marginally shook his head, "This wasn't really my experience."**

"Ugh, _nerd_ alert!" Leo booed, thumbs down to express his opinion. "Booze and babes, what's wrong with him!?"

Glowering at Hephaestus, Artemis hissed, "Your son is a disrespectful _swine_."

Grunting, the blacksmith actually disconnected his gaze from his tools and halted with his tinkering; a ball of fire materialized in his hand, his intense orbs never leaving the goddess of the hunt and he proceeded to toss it into the air and effortlessly catch it before crushing it between his fingers and the ridge of his palm, the flame vanishing. The threat however, while unspoken, was heard loud and clear.

Blushing to the tip of his ears, Leo looked away, secretly ecstatic at his father's profound defense despite the fact that he was the most reserved and taciturn Olympian. What few knew, was that despite his introverted disposition, Hephaestus was considered an Olympian for a reason, and like his brother Ares, he was a ruthless and menacing god whose temper shouldn't be tested _or_ provoked.

"Kid's got a point though," Ares grunted, portraying his agreement with his brother's son.

Athena bristled, "Samuel is a donnish mortal in possession of a scholarly mannerism and erudite to the core. The Library is his fortress as it _should be_. Not a bunch of tasteless, meretricious _parties_ and indulging in alcohol and narcotics, surrendering to their pernicious influences."

"Forget my previous comment, _she's_ the Debbie Downer, not Sam," Chris murmured to his brothers, both of whom nodded in wholehearted agreement, eyes wide on the wisdom goddess, their mouths hung agape.

"I truly do pity you, Athena," Aphrodite remarked. "When I look at you, all I see is a flavorless soul. Are you incapable of having fun and letting your hair down?"

Gray orbs narrowed on her. "I shudder at your definition of 'having fun'," she sneered.

"Your loss."

 **Snapping his fingers, Dean smirked, "Let me guess. Libraries, studying, straight A's?" At Sam's nod, he chuckled, "What a geek. Alright-" he shook his head, "-you do your homework?"**

 **"** **Yeah. It was bugging me, right? So how is the Hook Man tied up with Lori? So I think I came up with something." Sam unfolded a piece of paper and shoved it under Dean's nose, Liv leaning in over his shoulder. Dean started to read, "1932, clergyman arrested for murder. 1967, seminarian held in hippie rampage."**

"This is a complete mindblower," Rachel huffed, disappointment etched on her features.

Travis hummed. "Kinda ruins your faith, huh?"

"I bet you the Hook Man somehow framed it that way," Rachel stubbornly insisted, arms crossed.

 **Liv's gaze fell elsewhere and she silently slunk off.**

"She has a nasty habit of doing just that," Hecate remarked.

Eyes twinkling, Aphrodite happily mused, "I assume she spotted the dashing Mr. Warren."

The God of War didn't share his lover's sentiment, his jaw clenching at the probability and a vein throbbed in his forehead as he made a valiant attempt to suppress his rage. Funny enough, Apollo appeared to be on the exact same wavelength as Ares, except for the Sun God, confusion was a warring factor.

"Dean and Samuel should put a better leash on Olivia," Zeus looked uninterested despite his snide comment.

Artemis glowered, penetrating her father with metaphorical daggers in response to his degrading remark.

 **"** **There's a pattern here," Sam went on, not realizing that Liv had pulled the vanishing act again. "In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached** ** _against_** **immorality. And then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force. Killings carried out – get this – with a** ** _sharp_** **instrument."**

"Definitely framed by the Hook Man," Rachel affirmed, a crease deepening between her plucked eyebrows.

 **Frowning in contemplation, Dean met his brother's gaze, "What's the connection to Lori?"**

"I was just gonna ask the same thing," Percy murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

Clearing his throat, Apollo sent Athena – who was green with envy – a cheeky smile meant to provoke her, before addressing Percy, "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd go with the preaching against immorality part. _That's_ the connection."

"And the connection to Lori?" Jason inquired, an eyebrow arched in anticipation.

In response, Apollo waved at the screen, clearly as nonplussed as the rest.

 **"** **A man of religion?" Sam stated, his tone one of expressing the obvious. "Who** ** _openly_** **preaches against immorality?" Recognition dawned on Dean. "Except maybe this time, instead of saving the whole town, he's just trying to save his only** ** _daughter_** **."**

"Can't be!" Rachel gasped, her red curls swinging to and fro as she frantically shook her head. "It doesn't feel right."

Leo smartly decided to keep his mouth shut.

"It's not that farfetched," Hermes opined, more receptive to the conclusion Sam reached than the Oracle. "The Reverend possibly believed Rich wasn't good enough for Lori, and we know for sure that he was under the impression that Taylor was a bad influence on her," he matter-of-factly deduced.

And then, a most comical sight occurred; Hermes and Rachel stared expectantly at Apollo.

Blunt fingernails pierced the soft flesh of her palms as Athena glared maliciously at the eternal bachelor.

Hedging, Apollo's gaze flickered between them. Finally, he emitted a barely audible puff of breath, "Both probabilities have merit, but sweetheart, Hermes _does_ make a good argument, it's not a farfetched postulation." Sighing as he accurately deduced the reasoning behind his Oracle's plethora of outright denials, he softly said, "Rachel, I understand how hard it must be for you due to your beliefs, but you can't just bury your head under the sand whenever you don't like what you hear or see, you have to keep an open mind, yes? Open yourself up to many possibilities. Okay, darling?"

"Thanks, Apollo," Rachel offered him a hesitant smile and a determined nod, the respect she held for her Patron surging.

 **"** **Reverend Sorenson. You think** ** _he's_** **summoning the spirit?" Dean asked, surprised. Sam shrugged, "Maybe. Or, you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?"**

Hades looked disgruntled though immensely curious at the description.

 **"** **Yeah, the spirit latches onto the reverend's repressed emotions, feeds off them, yeah, okay," Dean stated with a nod, eyeing an attractive blonde girl in a micro miniskirt.**

Cue Artemis aggressively rolling her eyes.

Ares however, lost interest in the brothers' conversation, his gaze burning at the screen in anticipation of Olivia's whereabouts and _hating himself for it_.

 **"** **Without the reverend ever even knowing it," Sam grimaced.**

"So…what? They're saying somebody's _subconscious_ has the capability to summon a ghost for a killing spree?" Annabeth asked, her shock profound.

Hades' grimace matched Sam's, "It's a frightening prospect. I've never heard of such a thing. Which makes it more worrying."

The God of the Dead truly felt obsolete.

Leaning into her husband's personal space, Persephone murmured, "I insist we confront Melinoe once we are done here. Perhaps she can enlighten us to these irregularities."

"I concur, my love," Hades expelled a long-drawn-breath, palpably disturbed.

 **Huffing, Dean gave his brother a pointed look, "Either way, you should keep an eye on Lori tonight."**

 **Nodding, Sam asked, "What about you…" Eyes widening in realization, his gaze sharpened, "Where's Liv?!" Tearing his appreciative gaze from the attractive blonde, Dean whipped around and, upon finding Liv wasn't anywhere to be found, groaned, "** ** _Damn it_** **, Liv!"**

"Too little, too late," Hera sniped, her tone heavy with censure.

Hermes rolled his eyes, "Give them a break. Dean and Sam aren't her keepers-"

"But they _are_ responsible for her," Hestia rebuked, attempting to keep her tone neutral while also drive her message home. "Dean and Samuel _are_ responsible for her, Hermes. Olivia, despite her daily activities and her dangerous profession, and despite the fact that she _can_ stand up for herself and protect her own, _and_ that she had to grow up quickly, she _is_ a sixteen-year-old girl, a _child_. Dean and Samuel should keep a better watch on her. She should be their first priority."

Throwing a hand Hestia's way, Hera smugly uttered, " _Exactly_ my point. Thank you, sister."

Upon seeing Aphrodite bristle in defense of the brothers, Hestia calmly raised both her hands in a peaceful gesture, "I am not saying they are irresponsible, Aphrodite. Nor will you ever hear me claim they do not care about her wellbeing. From their dynamics, I can sense the pure love they hold for Olivia, especially from Dean. That man adores the ground she walks on and would do anything to keep her happy. I am merely pointing out that, perhaps, Dean more precisely, gives Olivia too much leeway."

Grudgingly, the goddess of love nodded in concession, though she appeared unhappy nevertheless.

 **Dragging a hand down his face, Dean met Sam's exasperated gaze, "Go, Sammy. I'll take care of this. You keep an eye on Lori. Leave Liv and Jacob Karns to me."**

 **The scene then alternated to Liv who was refilling her drink when Clay appeared in front of her. "Looking for me," he cheekily stated.**

Hera clucked her tongue, "She should not be drinking alcohol!"

Dionysus had long discarded his magazine the moment the Winchesters made an appearance at the party, his purple orbs flaring in enthusiasm. After all, he _is_ the God of Revelry, though this current party was nothing compared to the infamous ones he held.

" _Hush_!" Aphrodite hissed, leaning forward, her eyes alight, upon the appearance of the Warren hunter. For some perplexing reason, she found herself invested in him, an anomaly she decided to dissect at a later time.

 **"** **Fancy seeing you here," she drawled out, her expression one of disinterest as she sipped on her drink. "You stalking me, Rob-** ** _Oops_** **, I mean,** ** _Clay_** **," she sneered, shoving past him, ensuring her shoulder purposely bumped against his.**

 **Completely unaffected by her bad temper, Clay smirked, "Guess you're still mad at me, huh?"**

 **"** **Now, what gave you** ** _that_** **impression," she sarcastically retorted, looking at him from over her shoulder. Clay let out a bark of laughter, "Oh,** ** _come on_** **, it's nothing that you haven't done a million times over. How many times have you given somebody a fake name?"**

"He has a point," Percy commented, matter-of-factly.

Piper scowled, "That's different."

And right on cue…

 **"** **That's different," Liv snapped, pivoting around to squarely meet his gaze.**

Waving a hand at the screen, Piper smirked, " _See_!"

"How exactly is it different?" Grover hesitantly inquired, head tilted in curiosity.

Clearing his throat, Dionysus drawled, "How about you allow Olive to disclose _her_ reasons."

The demigods rolled their eyes in synchronization at the wine god's blatant attempt to botch every single demigod's name up.

"Is it like, a demigod thing?" Percy cut in, disregarding Hera's groan of irritation in the background. "I mean, you get Dean and Sam's names right, but Liv, you don't? It's 'cause she's a demigod, right?"

Meeting his sea-green gaze, Dionysus wrinkled his nose and feigned confusion, "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Percival."

Throwing both hands overhead, Percy groaned, "Case in point."

"Give it up, Perce. It's Mr. D," Connor said, as though it explained everything and going by Percy's nod, it did.

Dionysus cocked his head to the side, "Somehow, I feel insulted."

Ariadne giggled, patting her husband's forearm in mock-commiseration.

 **At Clay's cynically arched eyebrow, Liv started poking his chest with her index finger, her scowl more pronounced, "You** ** _knew_** **who we were. You knew who** ** _I_** **was, all the while keeping that stupid Rob Cruise farce, making me look like a fool in the process! You have history with my family, you should've just come right out and said it instead of playing the role of ignorant civilian."**

"Oh," Grover blinked in comprehension.

Smirking over at the Satyr, Apollo decided to impart a few words of wisdom, "Word of advice, kid, girls hate being lied to. If you're gonna lie to a chick, don't ever let her find out- _Ouch_! Damn it, Artie!" Rubbing the back of his head, the sun god glowered at his red-faced twin, her ivory complexion beginning to match her vivid hair.

"Discard his words, Satyr. Tis words from a philandering fool," Artemis spat, her eyes never leaving her twin, who no longer looked to be in pain but illegally smug. "And it's _Artemis_ ," she hissed, venom in her tone.

 **"** **Well, if you want to be technical, I never met you before," Clay's smirk didn't waver despite Liv's fierce glare. Sighing, he changed the subject, "Look, I'm not skipping town until the case's wrapped up. I know you and your cousins have it handled, so unless you ask for help, I'm staying out of it-"**

 **Folding her arms, Liv raked his form, her eyebrow hitting her hairline, "Oh, so you're not stalking** ** _me_** **, you're babysitting** ** _us_** **."**

Hermes cringed, "Now that was uncalled for. Hit right below the belt." After all, a man of Clay's caliber wouldn't like to be called a babysitter; Hermes knew he wouldn't.

"A metaphorical kick in the nuts," Apollo winced his agreement, though, he did feel a sort of inner vindictive pleasure as Liv gave Clay an unforgiving tongue-lashing, not bothering to hold anything back.

And then… it hit him!

Was he… he wasn't!

' _I'm not jealous!_ ' Apollo adamantly denied.

 **"** **Ouch," Clay scowled. Exhaling loudly, his expression turned solemn, "Look, I've been here keeping an eye on the kids, alright. It was chance that I ran into you. Which actually works in my favor. I've been meaning to talk to you, it's the reason why I stopped by the police station this morning, wanted to clear the air." At Liv's inquiring look, he stressed, "About last night… our** ** _kiss_** **."**

Ares' glare narrowed and his hands clenched, unfortunately he wasn't subtle enough to escape Aphrodite's knowing eyes. A vicious huff escaped him; nothing escaped that woman!

 **Liv stiffened, "What about it? It was a diversion Clay. I get it. What?" she let out a rude scoff, dark orbs piercing him. "Thought I'd cry into a diary while writing your name with hearts?"**

"She has too many barriers around her heart," Ariadne observed, her expression sad.

Aphrodite shared her friend's sentiment, "Olivia… the poor dear is so _young_ to be consumed by such bitterness. It only makes me wonder even more whatever happened to make her this way."

"Definitely something her previous boyfriend did to her. Remember?" Demeter turned to meet Aphrodite and Ariadne's curious gaze. "The shapeshifter _did_ mention an ex-boyfriend."

A muted growl rumbled in Ares' throat, though his features remained impassive.

"I wonder…" Persephone murmured, intrigued.

" _Men_ ," Artemis sneered, her tone malicious.

 **"** **Is that your defense mechanism talking? Somebody burned you so you lash out," Clay knowingly stated, a touch of sorrow written on his handsome features. Glare narrowing, just as Liv parted her lips, Clay interjected, palms up and out, "I liked it, you know. The kiss. You're,** ** _God_** **, you're one helluva sexy girl. And, a part of me wanted to yell at that cop for interrupting us. Could kiss you all day and all night." His voice turned husky and his pupils dilated with lust, prompting Liv's eyes to widen, taken aback.**

This time, the growl Ares emitted pervaded the room, the menacing noise vibrating against the walls and masking the sound Apollo's teeth made as they furiously grit together.

"Wow! He definitely knows the right things to say," Piper breathed out, her olive complexion slightly flushed.

Nodding, Rachel's eyes were wide as she visibly fanned herself, eyes intent on the screen, "Liv's one lucky gal."

Annabeth gave Rachel _a look_ , "Uhm, Rach, as the Oracle, you know celibacy is-"

"I know, _I know_! You don't have to spell it out for me," the Oracle huffed, a touch dismayed.

"I've said it a million times and I'll say it again, Apollo, you really should tweak the requirements for your poor Oracles. Abstaining from sex is pure torture," Aphrodite lightly commented, ignoring the glares burning into her person, courtesy of Artemis, Athena and Hera – the frigid shrews.

 **Taking a step back, Liv, an attractive blush on her face, said, "I'm assuming there's a '** ** _but_** **' in there somewhere…?"**

 **He choked out a bitter laugh, "** ** _But_** **, I've a brother your age and another a few years older. It's a cardinal rule of mine: do not engage in sexual activity with girls under the age of twenty-one."**

"A redeeming quality. Thank the Skies!" Artemis cheered, her expression brightening.

Hera curtly nodded, "I like this fellow. There is a line and he doesn't cross it. _Very_ admirable."

"He passionately made out with the runt. How is _that_ admirable?" Ares growled, glaring at the two narrow-minded goddesses. "He obviously broke his rule."

Artemis brushed a hand in the air, "Extenuating circumstances. If he hadn't done that, then they would've both spent the night in a holding cell. I believe exceptions can be made."

Blinking at his twin, Apollo said, "Have I accidentally stepped into an alternate universe?"

"Such claptrap doesn't exist you mindless buffoon," Athena sneered, glacial orbs penetrating the sun god.

"Extract that stick from your derriere, Athena," Aphrodite drawled, eyes rolling at the bitter bitch.

 **"** **Oh," Liv blinked. "Huh. Gotta say that's a new one; never heard that one before. I guess, I guess I can respect that."**

 **Clay beamed, "I wouldn't oppose to us being friends… if that's alright with you?"**

 **"** **Water under the bridge," she smirked, waving a hand. Turning to leave, she hesitated, "For what it's worth, you're not a bad kisser yourself." Winking at him, she threw her head backwards and laughed at Clay's parting words as he called out to her before she could disappear into the crowd, "Maybe when you hit twenty-one, I'll give you a call, Cher."**

The love goddess clasped her hands together, "Oh, _j'adore_! Quite a catch that one, I approve!"

"That makes one of us," Apollo mumbled under his breath, unknowingly taking the words right out of Ares' mouth, not that he'd admit it.

Hermes tossed Apollo a questioning look; his golden brother's odd behavior confusing him greatly.

 **The scene then portrayed Dean bump into Liv. "There you are! Where've you been?" he demanded, his voice harsh. Downing her drink, Liv shrugged, "Getting myself a refill. Where's Sam?"**

 **Scowling down at her, Dean placed a hand on her shoulder as he began steering her to the exit, "Next time, let one of us know, would ya. Sam's keeping an eye on Lori. And you, don't think I'm letting you off easy, got a perfect punishment for you."**

"This'll be good," Connor grinned, eagerly rubbing his hands together.

Chris lifted an eyebrow, "Why'd that make you happy? I thought you liked Liv…"

"Oh, I do. I like Dean, too, and he's cool. So I'm kinda curious as to what exactly he considers to be a form of 'punishment'," Connor replied, an impish smile materializing on his face.

Hermes shrugged, smiling fondly at his youngest, "Kid's got a point."

"Yeah, it's like Poseidon punishing Percy," Annabeth laughed at the thought.

Grumbling good-naturedly, Percy uttered a suggestion, "Probably force me to wear one of those outrageous Hawaiian shirts for a week."

A simple wave of his hand and the next thing the inhabitants in the throne room knew, Percy Jackson's stylish Henley shirt was gone, replaced with a lurid orange and purple Hawaiian t-shirt and matching shorts, the cherry on top being the leather flip-flops and a brown floral print bucket hat that sat atop his raven head.

Percy's bemused spluttering could barely be heard amidst the loud laughter that pervaded the room, the son of the sea's eyes running every inch of his body in shock. Suddenly, his gaze shot upwards and collided with Poseidon's. " _Dad_!" he whinged, a pout on his lips. " _Why_?"

"For your smart mouth, I believe it is a deserving punishment, don't you think?" mischief danced in the god's otherworldly orbs. "You only have yourself to blame, Perseus. I exacted the punishment you spoke of. Is the color not to your liking?" he innocently inquired, lips quirking to form a smirk.

"It's _blinding_ , and mismatched," he retorted indignantly, ripping off the hat from his head to stare at it in disbelief.

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose, staring at the boy in pity, "It _is_ too much, Poseidon."

" _Gah_! My eyes are watering, I can't even look at you," Thalia exaggerated, her expression screaming that she was enjoying the state Percy was currently in. However, sadness gripped her heart, knowing that her father would never openly tease her or treat her with the same affection Poseidon bestowed Percy with, whether there were witnesses or not.

Smirking, Poseidon said, "I will be generous with you, my son. You don't have to wear the ensemble for a week-"

"Oh, thanks gods!" he exclaimed.

"-just until the night's end," he concluded.

Percy buried his face in Annabeth's hair, her entire form shaking due to her uncontrollable fit of laughter. "Kill me now," he whined.

The daughter of Athena lightly patted his left cheek, "There, there."

 **The scene cut to Old North Cemetery. Dean and Liv were scoping out, both of them armed with a flashlight.**

"Did they mention a way to identify which unmarked grave belongs to the Hook Man?" Frank inquired, looking around the room.

"Not a thing," Will leaned back and made himself comfortable, eyes trained on the screen and acutely aware of his proximity to Nico who sat _right_ behind him.

 **Suddenly, Dean's light shone on a headstone engraved with the Jerusalem cross.**

"Bingo!" Leo cheerfully exclaimed.

Annabeth grinned, "Kind of smart, huh. I would hate for them to be left with no choice but to excavate every single unmarked grave in the vicinity."

"Would've been hell," Clarisse murmured, shaking her head at the thought.

The goddess of wisdom had her nose up, sniffing in disdain, "They simply got touched by Tyche. Luck is on their side for now."

Apollo, Hermes, Ares and Dionysus rolled their eyes at the haughty goddess; it was almost as though she loathed it when somebody other than herself was considered smart.

 **Calling Liv over, he walked to the unmarked grave and expelled a long breath, "Here we go."**

Rachel violently shuddered, both hands lifting to shield her eyes, "Don't tell me we're gonna see the nasty details… I don't wanna see it."

"Are you kidding me? It's gonna be _awesome_ ," Percy crowed, practically vibrating with enthusiasm, much like the Stolls, Chris, Leo, Jason, Nico, Clarisse and even Thalia. "Three ghost hunts and we've _yet_ to see them _actually_ salt and burn a corpse."

Katie, her expression one of unmitigated horror, stared at her excited friends and boyfriend. "Jacob Karns has been dead for over a century, I don't want to see his remains," she squealed.

Nonplussed, Nico cocked his head to the left, "But, he's a skeleton, Katie. There's nothing scary or disgusting about a skeleton."

The daughter of Demeter emitted a sharp snort, the sound leaning more towards the sarcastic side, "Given who your father is, Nico, I don't think I can take you for your word. Skeletons may be an everyday occurrence for you, but _not_ for me. I'm a girl of life, flowers and agriculture, not disturbing the dead and interacting with their remains. _Ugh_!" Shivering, goosebumps appeared on her arms and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"It's just a skeleton," Connor murmured, unfortunately not low enough as Katie pierced daggers at the side of his head.

"Personally," Hecate suddenly spoke up, cutting into the demigods' conversation. "I believe it shall be enlightening. A learning experience, don't you say? It is one thing to hear them explain the appropriate technique for ridding the mortal plane of ghosts, and another to _see_ , no?"

"I guess," Rachel mumbled.

 **The scene alternated to Sam.**

"No!" Percy, the Stolls, Chris, Leo, Jason, Nico, Clarisse and Thalia groaned.

On the other hand, Rachel, Katie and Piper beamed, the three girls emitting sighs of relief, grateful for the change in scenery.

 **He stood in front of the Sorenson house watching Lori and her father arguing through the window, their words inaudible.**

"Pan! Is that all they _ever_ do," Grover rhetorically stated; up till now, whenever Lori and her father happened to be in the same vicinity, they were wrapped up in some argument.

Percy grimaced, "Tell me about it." He couldn't imagine arguing with his mother, not only was she _the best_ mother in the world, but she was the kind of person that never had an unkind word to say about anyone and never complained.

 **And once more, the scene shifted back to the Cemetery.**

Cue simultaneous cheers and groans.

 **Liv, dirt marring her skin and smeared on her clothes, stood waist-deep in the excavated unmarked grave, a shovel in hand and an accumulating mound of soil piled nearby as she continued to dig deeper. The camera panned to Dean, who sat next to the mound, lounging lazily with a relaxed smirk on his face.**

 **"** ** _Ugh_** **! Deaaannn!" Liv whined, stomping her foot on the top of the square blade in order to push it deeper. She rolled her shoulders and pulled, adding more soil to the mound as she tossed it over without bothering to look. "A little help would be** ** _greatly_** **appreciated!"**

A plethora of eyes widened at that particular statement.

"She did _all that_ by herself?!" Poseidon's mouth hung ajar, impressed warring with his surprise.

Blinking rapidly, Athena stated, "That's no easy feat. The topsoil alone is a very _strong_ material to cut through. Unearthing a grave requires strength. I admit myself impressed."

"Huh. I guess that explains how Liv's so _fit_ ," Jason pointed out, his bright gaze tracing her well-defined figure and toned arms, her triceps bulging in an extremely attractive way.

For the very first time since Olivia Winchester had been brought into the world, Ares found himself incapable of calling her a runt, the slur almost natural at this point. No runt could produce such an outstanding feat. Excavation normally takes hours if one person is involved, and here stood his da-, _Olivia_ , halfway done, with absolutely no help.

"Even _I'd_ have trouble doing that," Clarisse frowned, disappointed at herself.

Her genuine observation had Ares rendered speechless and he was adamant that he keep his mouth shut. Besides, he was _certain_ that Olivia would once again, prove herself a runt soon enough. It was only a matter of time.

' _Denial, denial, denial,_ ' the irritating, skull-bashing singsong voices of Apollo and Hermes reverberated in his head, the mantra haunting him and refusing to leave him.

 **In response, Dean smiled innocently and tossed over a bottle of water. At Liv's incredulous look, he raised a hand in defense, "Hey! You asked for help, there you go. Water'll keep you hydrated and energized.** ** _See_** **, I'm helping."**

 **"** **I meant** ** _physically_** **! Like get your lazy ass up, pick up a shovel and** ** _help me_** **dig this shit up!" she bit back, a hand on her waist as she glared at him. He arched an eyebrow, "No can do, cuz. This is your punishment remember? Next time you decide to wander off without letting me and Sam know, you'll remember this moment. Now, come on, chop, chop-" he clapped, "-we got a ghost to kill. Get goin'."**

Artemis looked vehemently taken aback. "Color me impressed," she gasped. "Ingenious… _and I cannot_ _believe_ I am complimenting that mortal man!"

"That is a creative punishment, I must say," Athena pursed her lips, though her gray orbs no longer appeared to be flinty, but alight with awe. If Dean Winchester were anybody else – a monogamous mortal with a profession that consists of normal working hours and was in possession of an actual home – she would be interested in creating a brain child with him. If only it weren't for his philandering ways… _if only._

"Supernanny's got nothing on him," Leo chuckled.

Each and every demigod in the room, the Oracle and the Satyr as well, turned to gape at the son of Hephaestus, disbelief the main emotion vivid on their features, some their eyes wide, while others blinked in shock.

He frowned at the sudden attention fixated at him, coupled with the dumbstruck looks he was on the receiving end of. "What?"

" _What_?" Thalia repeated, shaking her head as though it would dispel his words emblazoned in her mind.

In the meantime, Ares bit his lower lip in an effort to quell his laughter, flaming sockets on Hephaestus who had paused in his tinkering to glance at his son, his unblinking gaze assessing one of his favorite sons who had been blessed with full potential.

"You watch Supernanny… and you're asking _us_ 'what'? _Dude_!" Connor managed to spit out.

Defensive, Leo sheepishly shrugged, "It's an entertaining show!"

"No comment," Rachel breathed out through her laughter.

"You just did," Leo remarked.

Eyes rolled at the typical Leo Valdez response.

Patting his back, a face-splitting smile emerged on Jason's face, "Never change, man. Never change."

Head cocked in confusion, the son of Hephaestus inquired in genuine confusion, "Why would I?"

" _Leo_!" Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Hazel, Frank, Rachel and Nico cried out, exasperation coating his name.

 **Sticking her tongue out and scowling heavily at him, Liv heaved a weary sigh and got back to work.**

"You know what? I think I'll stick to wearing Hawaiian clothing as punishment, much better than digging up a grave," Percy couldn't help but comment.

Eyes twinkling incandescently, Poseidon stroked his well-trimmed beard, lips quirked in a smirk that didn't bode well. "I'll keep that in mind for next time, Perseus," his tone reeked of mock-innocence.

The son of the Sea stiffed and he facepalmed, "I _had_ to open my mouth."

"Told ya you had a big fat one," Thalia smirked; Poseidon was quickly starting to become one of her favorite Olympian.

 **The scene forwarded slightly; Liv stopped digging and broke through the wooden floor of the grave to unveil the remains of Jacob Karns.**

Katie, Piper and Rachel leaned away from the screen, their nose wrinkled in disgust.

For her part, Aphrodite disliked the horrid sight; however, she could stomach such gruesome scenes. After all, she was a goddess, an Olympian, the daughter of a Protogenos, and has been alive for many millennia; Aphrodite had a hand in inciting wars alongside Ares, and a myriad of altercations for love. Aphrodite, while she may not look it, was a formidable warrior with many tricks up her sleeves. In the entirety of her perpetual life, Aphrodite witnessed macabre sights and bodies beyond recognition, therefore, the skeleton of a man long deceased evoked naught but apathy in the goddess.

 **"** **Hello, preacher," Dean grinned down at the remains. He then winked at Liv, "Want to do the honors?"**

 **All irritation dissipated from her gorgeous features as she stared from the remains to Dean in a giddy-like trance. "Are you** ** _kidding_** **? Me, Olivia Winchester, responsible for getting rid of the Hook Man once and for all…** ** _hell yeah_** **!" she exuberantly exclaimed as she tossed the shovel aside.**

 **The scene alternated back to Sam.**

"Aw, come on!" Percy grumbled.

In agreement, Nico said, "No offense to Sam, but I have absolutely no interest in watching him babysit the reverend's daughter."

"Absolutely no action," Ares grunted, nodding his agreement as well. In truth, the war god preferred to observe Olivia in her element, he wanted to discover more about her as he had apparently misjudged her… not that he would ever admit it out loud; _Hades_ , he had trouble admitting it to himself!

"But there might be a kiss or two," Aphrodite pouted. While she wanted to keep tabs on Olivia, she couldn't refuse the chance to witness romance at its best.

 **He remained rooted at his spot, watching as the reverend turned out the light and left the room. Not a second later, Lori emerged and approached him, sitting beside him on the bench. "I saw you from upstairs. What are you doing here?" she asked, turning a fraction to meet his gaze.**

 **"** **I'm keeping an eye on the place." At her inquiring look, he shortly explained, "I was worried."**

"Worried that you're next on your Dad's subconscious' hit list," Connor snidely pointed out.

Rachel shook her head, "Now that's something you don't hear every day."

Fuming, Hera narrowed her glare on them, "Cease and desist with such inane accusations."

"Cease and desist," Connor silently mouthed to Travis, his features contorted in a comical fashion as he mocked the Queen of Olympus.

Travis and Katie muffled their laughter and quickly averted eye contact with the aforementioned goddess as her glare focused on them, a brow arched in suspicion.

 **"** **About me?" she asked. Sam smiled sheepishly, "Yeah. Sorry."**

Artemis waved a hand, "No apology needed. His actions are commendable."

"In _your_ opinion," Apollo pointed out. "Lori might find him stalkerish."

 **She shrugged a shoulder, "No, it's cool. I already called the cops." At Sam's caught in the headlights expression, she smiled, taking the heat off her words which prompted Sam to laugh. "No, seriously. I think you're sweet. Which is probably why you should run away from me as fast as you can."**

A contemplative expression colored Rachel's features as she mulled Lori's words over.

 **"** **Why would you say that?"**

 **Lori looked away, a bitter smile gracing her face, "It's like I'm cursed or something. People around me keep dying."**

"I think it's possible that the Hook Man's tied to Lori, _not_ her father," Rachel suggested.

Apollo inclined his head, "It's possible. It's either the Reverend or Lori."

"Either way, we might not find out," Hermes shrugged. "If Dean and Liv are successful, the Hook Man's gone for good, remember."

Hecate made a humming noise. "Shame. I would have liked to satisfy my curiosity," she admitted.

 **Her bitter statement was met with a commiserating smile. "I think I know how you feel," Sam sighed.**

Aphrodite scowled, not liking the direction of Sam's thoughts. Jessica's death was absolutely _not_ his fault.

 **The scene cut to the Cemetery. Dean was taking out a few items from the duffle bag; Liv reached over and poured salt over Jacob Karns' remains, followed by a generous sprinkle of lighter fluid. Lighting up a match, Liv giddily said, "Bye-bye, Hook Man!" and then tossed the lit match into the grave. Dean and Liv stood by and silently watched as the bones burn into flames.**

 **Turning to Dean, Liv asked, "Am I off the hook now… no pun intended."**

 **"** **Yes," he chuckled, throwing an arm over her shoulder.**

"Awesome!" Percy, Leo and the Stolls breathed out.

Annabeth arched an eyebrow, "That's it? Seems too simple."

Piper snorted, leveling Annabeth with an incredulous look, "Says you. _You're_ not the one excavating the grave."

"Don't forget, once they've burnt the bones, they have to cover the grave back up, otherwise they'll draw attention to themselves from the authorities," Poseidon remarked, his respect for the Hunters escalating.

Realization dawned on Clarisse, "That completely slipped my mind."

"Tough job," Leo commented, his tone flippant.

Artemis fidgeted uncomfortably; the Winchesters and Hunters of their ilk truly put the concept of hunting and her domain into perspective. She and her Huntresses, while they thrived in the Wild, dwelled peacefully and had no concerns in regards to their next meal or bed. They were large in numbers, had backup and, in the case of her Huntresses, were blessed with enhanced physiology, immortality and adept archery skills. The Winchesters on the other hand, were burdened by mortality and the fragility of their bodies, all the skills and information they possess nurtured by _years_ of training, forcing their bodies to adapt. Why, if Artemis had been hunting a 'ghost', a simple flick of her wrist or snap of her fingers was all it took to unearth the grave, incinerate its bones and cover it back up, all without breaking a sweat.

Truly, Artemis held them in high esteem.

 **The camera returned to Sam and Lori as they sat on the bench in front of the latter's house.**

 **"** **No one will talk to me anymore. Except you," she was saying. "The sheriff thinks I'm a suspect. And you know what my dad will say? Pray. Have** ** _faith_** **. What does** ** _he know_** **about faith?"**

"Uhh… he's a _Reverend_ ," Rachel slowly drawled, her tone and expression clearly expressing how dim she believed Lori was as she was forced to state the obvious. "Of course he knows _all about_ faith. Is she for real?"

Nico looked torn, "Doesn't mean just because he's a Reverend that he's all-knowing, Rachel. Didn't the Winchesters reveal the Hook Man used to be a _preacher_?"

"Clearly being a man of religion doesn't automatically make them a saint," Connor scoffed, throwing the downhearted Oracle a pointed look.

"Guys, leave her be," Katie snapped, placing a comforting arm around the redhead as she glared at the boys for their insensitivity.

 **Sam leveled her with a thoughtful look and spoke in an encouraging tone, "I heard you guys fighting before."**

 **She nodded, her eyes staring straight ahead. "He's seeing a woman. A** ** _married_** **woman. I just found out. She comes to our church with her husband. I know her kids. And he talks to** ** _me_** **about** ** _religion_** **? About** ** _morality_** **? It's like, on one hand, you know, just do what you want and be happy. But he taught me,** ** _raised me_** **to believe that if you do something wrong you will get punished. I just don't know what to think anymore," at the end of her deprecating speech, Lori threw her arms around a confused Sam who cautiously returned the hug.**

Travis stared at the screen in disgust, "Talk about double standards."

"He's a damn hypocrite," Connor spat out, blue orbs blazing.

Poor Rachel felt like her entire belief system was slowly disintegrating, and she now knew _exactly_ how Hades and Nico felt, capable of fully commiserating with them at the revelation of Reverend Sorenson's _im_ morality and blatant iniquity.

"This supports Rachel's theory," Apollo suddenly put in, garnering everyone's attention. "The Hook Man latched on to _Lori_ , not her father. She's confused," he pointed his index finger at the screen where it had paused on Lori's tearful visage. "She doesn't know what's right and wrong anymore, and discovering the adulterous affair her father's partaking in with a married woman, well, let's just say she's lost her way and the Hook Man's feeding off of that."

Hecate appeared immensely pleased at Apollo's deduction, now able to put the mystery that had been plaguing her at rest. Oh, she always _loved_ a good mystery…

On the other hand, Hera looked like she had swallowed a lemon whole, her fair complexion mottled red, a depiction of her explosive rage. Zeus subtly created a distance between himself and his wife, not particularly having a desire to be in her line of vision when… or _if_ , she erupted, unable to help likening her to a volcano.

In a rare display of kindness, especially to a mortal, Triton addressed the teary-eyed redhead, "Just because there's one or even a handful of bad apples, doesn't make the entire crate bad, Oracle. The Preacher and Reverend may not be a pillar of righteousness but don't let their deplorable actions prompt you into questioning _your_ faith." The entire time, he made sure his expression revealed nothing, maintaining an impassive mask and an apathetic tone, his sea-green orbs blank with disinterest.

"Th-thank you," Rachel meekly piped up, her expressive emeralds alight with gratitude, a slow smile forming on her face.

The Sea God bestowed his son a smile that reeked of pride and, with his large hand, reached over and curled it around the nape of his neck, lightly squeezing it in a friendly manner, wordlessly indicating how proud he was; despite his son's haughty demeanor and prideful disposition, he was a compassionate and amicable god.

And _Mount_ Hera erupted. "Such a man should not be susceptible to the sinful call of duplicity! He should not weaken and crumble when faced with a seductress! I spit on him! I spit on her! I spit on their wicked deed and the harlot's treachery! _Curse them_!" she screeched, sounding very much like a Banshee, her high-pitched nuance shattering the congregation's eardrums, most especially the immortal beings enhanced and therefore extremely sensitive hearing.

"Shit happens," Aphrodite shrugged, unperturbed at the happenings. As the Goddess of Love, Lust, and Sexuality – _among many others_ – Aphrodite could honestly say that she was a goddess who had seen _it all_ , and it took _a lot_ to surprise her when it came to matters of her province.

The love goddess' utter nonchalance had Hera nearly spitting acid, Artemis and Athena sharing the Queen of Olympus' sentiments as they glared at Aphrodite with malicious-filled eyes.

 **Unexpectedly, her lips crashed into Sam's and they began to kiss. However, Sam abruptly pulled away, blinking hard. Seeing her confusion, he choked out, "Lori, I can't."**

"At the very least, Samuel is faithful to the memory of his deceased girlfriend!" Hera snarled, still apoplectic at the revelation of the Reverend's identity as the married woman's – or better yet, _harlot!_ –paramour. "This mortal brat on the other hand…" she trailed off, no words needing to describe her opinion of Lori Sorenson.

Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Aphrodite, Persephone, Ariadne and Dionysus rolled their eyes in synchronization – one would think that by now, they would have grown accustomed to Hera's opinionated behavior, but really, they weren't, the infuriating goddess always managing to push their buttons every single time she opened her vulgar mouth.

 **Comprehension dawned on her, "That someone you lost? I'm sorry." Just then, her father burst outside, his expression stern as held the door open, "Lori? Come inside, please."**

 **Growing angry, Lori shot to her feet, "I'll come in when I'm ready."**

"Disrespectful brat," Hera sneered, fist clenched and raised.

Eyebrows arched, Ares shot his mother a mockery of a smile, "Weren't you _just_ insulting the _good_ Reverend. How quick you change your tune."

"Why you-"

Emitting a weary sigh, Zeus held his sister-wife back, an arm firmly wound around her waist, forcing her back onto her throne.

Leaning over to whisper in Annabeth's ear, Thalia gritted out, "Somebody should introduce her to a muzzle."

The daughter of Athena responded with an emphatic nod, glaring at the goddess in distaste.

 **Suddenly, the Hook Man appeared behind the Reverend, his features distinguishable for the first time since his introduction. He was decked in black, from his fedora to his trench coat; he had dark wavy hair cascading to his chin, an olive complexion and prominent features, his lips set in a permanent grimace and his silver hook appearing more grim and intimidating in the clear light.**

 **Without warning, just as quick as he materialized, his hook pierced through the reverend's shoulder, prompting a gut-wrenching scream of pain, and he dragged him back inside, the front door slamming shut.**

"Oh _my_!" Ariadne gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth and recoiling backwards at the unexpected assault and the Hook Man's violence.

Grim-faced, Apollo announced, "Definitely latched onto Lori. The spirit fed on the anger she held toward her father and attacked him."

Absently shaking her head, Piper muttered, "I'm more upset that I _actually_ find the Hook Man good looking!" She seemed appalled at herself and at her line of thoughts.

Katie exhaled a breath of relief, "Oh, thank the gods. I was scared I was the only one."

" _Piper_!"

" _Katie_!"

Came the simultaneous yells of astonishment from their respective boyfriends, widened eyes piercing them in utmost disbelief and a smidge of horror.

"It's alright girls," Aphrodite consoled them, a soft smile gracing her features. "Usually antagonists are incredibly sexy. The Hook Man won't be the only attractive villain to make an appearance. There _is_ a reason why a large percentage of the female population gravitates toward the bad boys," she winked, eliciting giggles out of Katie and Piper, both of whom spared the goddess a grateful smile.

Artemis sat agape. " _Preposterous_! A man has been attacked and you three are calmly discussing that abomination's good looks? I cannot believe you!" she snapped, indignant.

A sly smile overcame the love goddess, "Is this you indirectly admitting you _too_ find Jacob Karns attractive?"

Apollo couldn't help but burst into laughter, Hermes instantly joining in.

Spluttering, devoid of an eloquent response, the Goddess of the Hunt emitted a petulant scream, " _ARGH_!"

"Aphrodite," Zeus sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "Please cease your teasing."

 **Sam immediately gave chase with his shotgun, running into the house and as he looked around, the Reverend could be heard screaming and pleading from the second landing. He wasted no time to ascend the stairs and the bedroom door could be seen shutting. Sam burst in to see the Hook Man looming over the Reverend, about to stab him with his hook.**

"No! No, no, no!" Rachel moaned, hugging herself tightly as she rocked backwards and forwards, unconsciously parroting the Reverend.

Without hesitation, Connor wrapped his arms around the Oracle and pushed her into his warmth, allowing her back to lean against his chest, his embrace tightening around her as he offered her much needed comfort.

 **Swiftly cocking and raising his shotgun, Sam took rapid aim, hitting the Hook Man on the side with rock salt. The spirit disintegrated into dust and the blast of the gun shattered the bedroom window.**

 **"** **Dad!** ** _Dad_** **!" Lori frantically yelled as she too, burst through the bedroom door, coming to an abrupt stop to kneel down beside her father's fallen form. "Okay. It's okay, Dad, it's okay. It's okay." The camera then focused on Sam as he watched over them just as the screen turned black.**

"Didn't the other two destroy the ghost when they salted and burnt it's remains?" Ares grunted, an eyebrow arched in question.

His keen observation had everyone pause, shock and confusion the main emotion coloring their features; the fact that Dean and Olivia were in the Cemetery and took care of the Hook Man's bones _before_ it appeared at the Sorenson House and attacked the Reverend completely slipped their mind, too enthralled with the current proceedings and concerned for the safety of Lori and her father.

"Well, I'll be damned. That's right," Apollo snapped his fingers in remembrance. "Nothing can ever run smoothly for the Winchesters, can it? There's always some sort of a complication."

"The _ghost_ -" Hades swallowed harshly, displeasure written all over his handsome visage, "-must have an anchor to the mortal plane. The destruction of its remains wasn't enough."

Hazel tapped her chin in consideration, "I wonder what it could be…"

"My first guess would be the hook," Percy instantly put forth his suggestion. He then shrugged a shoulder at the incredulous looks he was on the receiving end of, " _What_? _Hook_ Man, hello? Kinda obvious, ain't it? Karns was obviously attached to that darn thing, it makes sense."

Thalia smirked, "When did you get so smart, Percy?"

"Shut it, Pinecone Face!" he retorted.

 **The scene opened at the hospital, the camera shifting from the Reverend who was unconscious in a hospital bed, Lori standing by his side, to Sam, who was talking to the Sheriff. "We were just talking. Then Lori's dad came out. And then he appeared," Sam informed him.**

 **Nodding, the Sheriff asked, "A big man? Carrying a weapon, some kind of** ** _hook_** **?" At Sam's affirmative, he then asked, "Ever seen him before?" Sam promptly responded in negative. Huffing, the Sheriff shook his head, "Son, it seems every time I turn around, I'm seeing you. I suggest you try to stay out of trouble."**

The Stolls couldn't help but snigger at not only the Sheriff's words, but Sam's chastised expression. At Artemis' disapproving gaze, they shrugged.

Travis averted eye contact, sheepish. Connor on the other hand, defensively said, " _What_ , it's funny!"

"You and I have different ideas on what constitutes as funny, young man," the goddess harshly rebuked him.

Hermes rolled his eyes, "Ah, give it a rest, sister. My boy's got a sense of humor, leave him be. Laughter is good for the soul." He then winked at his youngest and refocused his attention onto the screen, purposely overlooking Artemis' glare.

"At least with Sam as a witness, Lori's no longer a person of interest," Annabeth pointed out. "The Sheriff will now look at someone else."

"Yes, the blithering idiot shall search for an eternity and come up with nothing," an absentminded Dionysus drawled.

Cue Rachel's ferocious glare. "It doesn't matter! The Winchesters will deal with the Hook Man either way," the redhead snapped.

The wine god carelessly waved his hand around, completely uninterested, "Yes, yes, whatever."

 **The camera panned to show Dean and Liv, escorted by two officers, walk down the hall towards Sam and the Sheriff. "No, it's alright, we're with him. He's my brother," Dean was saying right before he called out to Sam. "Hey!** ** _Brother_** **!" In unison, Sam and the Sheriff turned around; Dean smiled and waved while Liv simply rolled her eyes.**

"Oh how I missed Liv's sunny disposition," Thalia sarcastically remarked, though her lips twitched as though she were hiding a smile; it was quite obvious that the daughter of Zeus was quite fond of the female Winchester and, like Clarisse, looked up to her, despite her mood swings.

 **The Sheriff gestured them forward, "Let them through." Leaving him, Sam approached his brother and cousin and, once they were out of earshot, Dean gruffly demanded, "What the hell happened?"**

 **"** **Hook Man," was Sam's laconic response. Shaking her head, Liv trained her wide eyes onto Sam, "Wait! You** ** _saw_** **him?!"**

"And cue Liv fangirling," Rachel knowingly stated, a hint of a smile on her face.

Eyes narrowed into slits, Athena snidely reprehended, "She needs to sort out her priorities!"

 **"** **Damn right," Sam snapped. "Why didn't you torch the bones?" he demanded. Dean stared at him, incredulous, "What are you talking about,** ** _Liv did_** **. You sure it's the spirit of Jacob Karns?"**

 **Confident, Sam nodded, "It sure as hell looked like him. And that's not all. I don't think the spirit is latching on to the reverend."**

"Took 'em long enough to figure it out," Leo shook his head, staring at the screen in disappointment as though Dean, Sam and Liv had let him down.

Katie rested a hand against her forehead, staring heavenward with imploring hazel-brown eyes. "Leo," she prefaced in exasperation. " _We_ see _everything_. The Winchesters _don't_. They come in blind, trying to solve a case without much to go on, while we're given a lot of clues _firsthand_. You cannot be _that_ dense."

Frowning, Leo pouted at the daughter of Demeter, "Rude."

"Honest," she instantaneously volleyed.

"Still rude," he grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

She mimed zipping her mouth shut and looked away, not in the mood to start an argument with Leo, knowing that it might never end and that, if it did, she'd wind up with a migraine.

 **"** **No duh!" Liv scoffed, eyes twinkling in amusement despite her tone. "He wouldn't send the Hook Man after himself."**

 **"** **I think it's latching onto** ** _Lori_** **," Sam insisted, barely acknowledging Liv's interruption. "Last night she found out her father is having an affair with a married woman-"**

 **Cutting in once again, Liv barked a laugh, "Wouldja look at that? The Reverend's having more fun in the action department-"**

Athena wrinkled her nose, disdain etched on her features, "How uncouth. So much like her father."

The God of War responded with a simple roll of his eyes, not rising to her pathetic attempt at baiting him. On the other hand, Aphrodite shot back, "I'll let that one slide as _personally_ , I find your comment to be a _remarkable_ compliment, you old shrew."

"Harlot!" Athena spat back.

Aphrodite laughed, unaffected by the crude insult, having heard it many times before it had gotten old and overused. "Know-it-all spinster," she retorted in between an exaggerated yawn.

" _ENOUGH_!" Zeus bellowed, half-rising from his ostentatious throne, eyes glowing with power.

Rolling her eyes, Aphrodite snuggled into Ares' side, conceding with grace unlike Athena, who huffed and pouted like a petulant child.

 **Throwing her an annoyed glare and ignoring Dean's muffled laugh, Sam continued, emphasizing his words, "So she's upset about the immorality of it. She told me she was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished."**

"Punishment is _not_ synonymous with murder!" Ariadne breathed out in horror.

Apollo brushed a hand through the air, "Out of context, Aria. The Hook Man exacts _his_ form of punishment, which, apparently is getting skewered by his fancy hook."

Ariadne looked put out but nevertheless she inclined her head in comprehension.

 **"** **I'm sure killing daddy wasn't what she meant by punishment," Liv commented with extra snark. Lightly elbowing her, Dean spared her a serious look before addressing Sam, "Ok, so she's conflicted. And the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching on to repress the emotions and maybe he's doing the punishing for her, huh?"**

 **Sam nodded wholeheartedly and began ticking off on his fingers, "Right. Rich comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make her into a party girl, Dad has an affair."**

"Wouldn't wanna piss that girl off," Apollo couldn't help but comment, prompting a bout of laughter from the demigods and a vicious glare from his twin that stated she was _anything but_ amused.

Joining in, Hermes smirked, "Yeah, wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot-pole. A chick with too many issues is _not_ my kinda chick."

An arrow whizzed past Hermes head, a hairsbreadth from the tip of his ear and he yelped. " _Artemis_!"

"Next time, I _won't_ miss," she threatened him as she menacingly caressed her bow.

Zeus glowered at his daughter. "If there _is_ a next time, I shall ensure you no longer have the privilege of using any form of weaponry, daughter of mine. Don't _test_ me!" he snarled when Artemis parted her lips to argue further.

Playfully, and much too smug for Artemis' liking, Hermes stuck his tongue out at her, both his eyebrows wagging merrily.

Groaning, the Lord of the Sky's plea reached Poseidon's ear, greatly amusing him, "Give me the strength."

 **"** **Remind me not to piss this girl off," Dean whistled.**

"That's what I said!" Apollo cheered, grinning like a loon.

Dryly, Artemis quipped, "What an _honor_ , you have a lot in common with Dean, hooray, hip, hip."

 **Butting in, Liv, all joking aside, insisted, "Putting aside Lori's need for a shrink, I** ** _burned_** **those bones, I** ** _buried_** **them in salt,** ** _why_** **didn't that stop the Hook Man?"**

 **"** **You must have missed something," Sam stubbornly persisted. She adamantly shook her head, "No. I burned everything in that coffin. Ask Dean!"**

 **Dean instantly backed her up, "She did. I watched the entire thing, Sam. She torched 'im like a pro. Dad'd be proud."**

A sudden surge of… _something_ , rose inside of Ares at Dean's words, a bitter taste in his mouth that he yearned to spit out.

 **"** **Did you get the hook?" Sam inquired.**

" _Bingo_!" Leo whipped around to stare at Percy, "You were right!"

The son of Poseidon smirked at his friend, "Of course I was, McShizzle."

"Arrogant!" Thalia coughed.

Percy glared. "I heard that!" he bit out.

Shrugging, Thalia rearranged her expression to one of innocence – not that anyone bought it. "Heard _what_?"

 **"** **The hook?" Dean and Liv intoned; Dean sounded confused while Liv's voice was heavy with recognition. Sam nodded and gestured with his hand, "Well, it** ** _was_** **the murder weapon, and in a way, it was part of him."**

 **"** **So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power," Dean stated in comprehension. Excited at the prospect, Sam said, "So if we find the hook…"**

 **And in unison, Dean and Liv completed his sentence, "We stop the Hook Man." The trio then smiled at each other and the scene changed.**

Aphrodite couldn't help but coo fondly, "How adorable! Look at them finishing each other's sentences."

"With the amount of time they spend around each other, it's only natural," Persephone inserted, she too, had a fond smile playing on her lips.

"Despite their differences, they're on the same wavelength, which makes them superb hunters," Artemis grudgingly informed the room. "It's an aspect that has the potential of making them an unbeatable and unstoppable force, like my Huntresses."

Nico couldn't help but glare sourly at the goddess; ' _unstoppable'_ , ' _unbeatable'_ – empty words. It didn't stop Bianca from being killed soon after she got inducted by Artemis into her merry band of men-bashing group.

 **Dean, Sam and Liv were congregated in the Library again, looking through more papers. "Here's something, I think," Dean spoke up. "Log book, Iowa State Penitentiary-" his finger slid across the page as he started to read out loud; "Karns, Jacob. Personal affects: disposition thereof."**

 **Sam looked interested, "Does it mention the hook?"**

 **Leaning into Dean's personal space, Liv squinted hard as she tried to make out the words. Patting her softly, Dean continued reading, "Upon execution, all earthly items shall be remanded to the prisoner's house of worship, St. Barnabas Church."**

 **"** **Isn't that where Lori's father preaches," Liv looked up, meeting Dean's gaze as he slowly nodded.**

"Of course it is," Apollo scoffed. "Easier to latch on to Lori, no?"

Clarisse slowly spoke up, her words addressed to Apollo, who was starting to become the go-to-god to the demigods, much to Athena's fury. "You think the Hook Man would be able to latch on to somebody in another state?" her tone was laced with curiosity.

Mulling it over, before Apollo could so much as shake his head, Athena snarled, "No."

To the wisdom goddess's escalating fury, Clarisse ignored her, muddy brown orbs fixated on Apollo as she patiently waited for him to respond.

Smirking, Apollo wagged his fingers in Athena's general direction before he dutifully offered a response to Clarisse's inquiry, "I believe not. The Hook Man's anchor is his hook. Wherever the hook goes, so does he. Like Bloody Mary, when her mirror got relocated, so did she. As long as the hook stays in Iowa, Karns can't go anywhere."

"That's a relief," Rachel sighed.

Thalia nodded rapidly, "Tell me about it. I don't want no spirit to latch onto _my_ shitload of repressed emotions."

" _Language_!" Hera shrieked.

"Bite me," Thalia hissed the second Hera looked away.

 **"** **Where Lori lives?" Sam asked.**

 **Shrugging, Dean said, "Maybe that's why the Hook Man has been haunting reverends and reverends' daughters for the past two-hundred years-"**

 **"** **Ugh, you mean the past hundred-and-forty-three years. He got executed in the early 1860s smartass," Liv smirked, laughing lightly. Dean rolled his eyes in a 'whatever' gesture.**

"She pays attention to details," Ariadne remarked.

Hazel couldn't help but point out, "Only when it benefits her. She's a fan of the urban legend, of course she'll remember every single detail."

 **Sam chuckled, "Yeah, but if the hook were at the church or Lori's house, don't you think someone might've seen it? I mean, a bloodstained, silver-handled hook?"**

 **"** **Maybe they washed it," Liv shrugged.**

Cue laughter.

"She makes a good point!" Percy jovially exclaimed amidst the laughter. "Who would keep a bloodstained hook around? After Karns' got executed, it's only _natural_ they clean that damn thing."

"Maybe the authorities didn't want to tamper with evidence," Grover postulated.

Hades shook his head, "The culprit had been arrested and subsequently executed; hence, all cases connected to Jacob Karns are officially closed. Evidence is no longer required."

 **Rolling his eyes at her comment, Dean ordered, "Check the church records."**

 **The scene forwarded to show the Winchesters still in the library, busy researching; the silence was broken by Sam, as he read aloud, "St. Barnabas donations, 1862. Received silver-handled hook from state penitentiary. Reforged." Sighing, he met Dean and Liv's intent stare, "They melted it down. Made it into something else."**

"Of course they did! Because _nothing_ can go smoothly for them, there's _always_ some complication," came Percy's vociferous complain, livid at the unfairness of it all.

Staring around, her eyes wild, Piper asked, "Now what? How do they find the anchor if they don't know what it is… it could be _anything_! A pen, a piece of jewelry, freaking _cutlery_ , for all we know. Maybe even a customized doll! _Who knows_!"

"Alright, calm down, just breathe in and out," Apollo had his hands out, palms facing them in a 'calm-down' gesture. "The Winchesters will find a way. They've never disappointed us before-"

A rumbling scoff that reeked of condescension and scorn resonated in the room and the Sun God tossed a quick glower at Ares who simply glared back.

"Any bets on what it could be?" Travis spoke in an air of mischief.

Patting her pockets, Clarisse grunted, "I'm tapped out. If I knew I'd get sent back in time and start a betting pool, I'd've gotten my life savings with me." Sarcasm laced her words prompting muffled laughter and a few eye rolls from the demigods.

"No money. Just for fun-" Travis assured her.

Connor interjected, his expression claiming that he was _utterly_ up to no good, "Or favors. Dares maybe… endless possibilities Claire-Bear."

"I'll pummel you, _Connie_ ," she retorted, crooning the feminine nickname she created to get back at him after one too many pranks he played on her during their early years at Camp Half-Blood.

The younger Stoll stuck his tongue out at her, expression contorted in disgust.

"Shall we proceed," Hestia kindly interjected before her cantankerous sister could.

 **The scene cut to the exterior of St. Barnabas Church where Dean, Sam and Liv rushed out of the parked Impala. Clapping his hands together, Dean said, "Alright, we can't take any chances. Anything silver goes in the fire."**

"That's gonna be tough," Rachel murmured to herself, leaning closer.

 **Sam nodded, "I agree. So, Lori's still at the hospital. We'll have to break in."**

 **"** **Alright, take your pick," Dean stated. Sam decided to take the house and, as he walked towards the Sorenson House, Dean called out, a smirk on his lips, "Hey! Stay out of her underwear drawer." Liv chuckled and Sam rolled his eyes as he walked away.**

Persephone shook her head in amusement, "It's such a typical comment for Dean to make. I could _almost_ say I saw it coming."

"He shouldn't treat the situation with levity. Tis a severe matter that should be treated with utmost delicacy!" Athena harrumphed, her stance rigid and tone austere.

Apollo rolled his eyes, "Nothing wrong with creating a lighthearted ambience, Athena."

 **As Dean and Liv started to make their way into the church, a familiar voice echoed from behind, "Hey! You guys need some backup?" Whipping around, they exclaimed in unison, "Clay?" Dean then took over, "Man, what are you doing here?"**

 **"** **Heard about the Reverend and that Sam was involved. Thought I'd give you guys a lending hand, if you want me…" he trailed off, grinning. Clapping Clay on the back, Dean returned his grin, "The more the merrier. Liv?"**

 **She shrugged, "Got a lot of silver to burn, another hand would help."**

"I find it odd… seeing someone act all macho and protective over Dean," Katie couldn't help but comment.

Annabeth wholeheartedly agreed, "I know what you mean. I've already gotten used to the fact that Dean's the eldest and of him looking after Sam and Liv. I think it's cute, and touching. And it makes me even more curious. I really wanna know why the Warrens lost contact with them…"

Ignoring the latter part of Annabeth's remark, Thalia huffed, "He's older by like, _one year_ , not much of a difference if you ask me."

Travis emitted a disagreeing sound, "It makes _a huge_ difference, Thalia. They may be close in age, but Clay's still older… as an elder sister, you should know."

"I'm _seven years_ older than Jason, Travis. _That's_ a huge difference. You cannot compare seven to a measly one," she countered.

An eyebrow arched, Travis probed harder, unwilling to concede defeat to the stubborn daughter of Zeus, "So you're telling me if Jason was just a year younger than you, you wouldn't act overprotective?"

Complete silence met his hypothetical inquiry.

Victory shone in Travis' eyes, "Exactly!"

"Oh, _zip it_ ," she grumbled.

 **The scene cut to the basement. Dean and Clay could be seen throwing anything silver into a lit furnace while Liv rummaged through the basement, haphazardly grabbing any silver item and tossing it over to the other two hunters who proceeded to burn them. Suddenly, footsteps thundered against the stairs and Sam appeared, a bag filled with silver things from Lori's house in hand. "I got everything that even looked silver," he revealed, only sparing Clay an arched eyebrow before shaking his head.**

 **"** **Better safe than sorry," Dean affirmed, throwing everything into the fire.**

"Somehow, I don't think it'll be enough," Frank pointed out. At the inquiring looks directed his way, he did a half-shrug, his expression somewhat apologetic, "I just sense it's too… easy. Grab anything silver, burn it, and the Hook Man's gone. Doesn't seem like much of a fight."

An eyebrow rose as Artemis stared the son of Mars down, "Why should there be an altercation, young man?"

Squirming, Frank adamantly avoided his father's intense gaze, "Because, from what the Fates have shown us up till now, I've learned that the Winchesters have it hard. This ending is too anticlimactic. I feel like there's more in store for them."

Backing up her Roman half-brother, Clarisse spoke up, "He's got a point. No offense to the Fates, but… ever heard of the famous mortal saying: Fate's a bitch?"

Ares' eyes shuttered and he forcibly banished any diminutive feelings of concern. He didn't care for the runt or her punk-ass cousins. _He didn't_ …. ' _I don't!_ '

 **More footsteps echoed from above and the four hunters turned to each other with wide eyes. They armed themselves and slowly ascended, only to see Lori sitting in a pew by herself, in tears. In unison, they lowered their guns and all but Sam headed back downstairs.**

"The poor girl," Artemis commiserated with the Reverend's daughter. She too, had destructive altercations with her pigheaded father, but she would never wish any harm upon him.

Hecate made a humming sound, "Yes, to feel as if she is cursed…"

"She's not far off," Hermes muttered; after all, the Hook Man had latched himself to her – if that isn't considered a curse, he didn't know what would.

 **"** **Lori?" Sam softly called out to her. Startled, Lori turned to meet his gaze, "What are you doing here?"**

 **Dodging her inquiry, he asked, "What is it?"**

 **Tone laced with sorrow and self-hatred, she vaguely responded, "I've been trying to understand what's been happening. Why? Now I know so I'm praying for forgiveness."**

Frowning, Hazel, sympathy coloring her dark features, said, "I think Sam should tell her. Tell Lori the truth. She deserves to know the spirit of the Hook Man has attached itself to her subconscious. It'll at least give her peace of mind."

"I agree," Hecate smiled kindly at the resurrected demigod.

Indignant, Athena sneered, "Well, I don't. It's best they destroy that bothersome spirit and skip town. Leave no loose ends behind."

"Lori deserves to know," Annabeth surprised _nearly_ everyone by talking back at her mother, gray orbs flinty due to her mother's heartless statement. "They get rid of the Hook Man, then what? Lori spends the rest of her life hating herself? That'll probably lead her to a path you can't escape. She'll be _miserable_!"

Appalled at her daughter's impertinent behavior and that she dared to question her in front of an audience, Athena haughtily snapped, "Tis not our concern."

"Maybe not _yours_!" Annabeth rudely retorted, disbelief and disappointment vivid on her visage.

 **Sam cocked his head, "Forgiveness for what?"**

 **"** **Don't you see?" Lori was in hysterics. "** ** _I'm_** **to blame for all this. I've read in the Bible about avenging angels."**

A cacophony of intermingled snorts and scoffs reverberated, courtesy of the gods, amused and skeptical.

"Angels?!" Zeus exclaimed his disbelief, carelessly waving a hand. "No such thing."

Rachel wasn't of the same mind. Arching an eyebrow, she pointedly flicked her gaze towards Hades before squarely meeting the Lord of the Sky's, "If you recall, the same conclusion was drawn in regards to demons, and _boy_ , were you proven wrong."

Before his father could implode and probably smite his Oracle, Apollo intruded in a timely fashion, his smile amused, though his tone benign, "And you, Rachel, you believe angels exist?"

She hesitated. Emeralds appeared to be conflicted as she steadily gazed back at the bright sapphires that belonged to her Patron. Finally, she did a half inclination of her head, "I believe but… at the same time, I don't _quite_ believe-"

"Can you be any more vague?" Connor scoffed. "You're confusing us."

Throwing him a sardonic smile, Rachel slowly elaborated, "I'm not being cryptic on purpose. While I'm a deeply pious person who attends Sunday Mass and practically memorized The Bible at a young age, I'm not _fully_ open-minded, I don't…I don't _automatically_ believe everything I read in The Bible just 'cause I'm a devout Christian. On one hand, I'm kind of iffy about the existence of angels, but on the _other hand_ , I'm more inclined to Archangels; I believe Michael, Raphael and Gabriel _could_ be out there, somewhere… but Lucifer? The Fallen Archangel turned Devil, _no_."

"You're quite the contradiction," Apollo mused out loud. "Every word that came out of your mouth right now is incongruent to each other."

Sheepishly, Rachel ducked her head. "I know. It only got worse and even more cryptic after I found out mythology wasn't really based on myths," she chuckled nervously.

Shaking his head in slight amusement, Percy said, "I wouldn't want to live in your head, Rach. It's probably a bloodbath in there."

"Hardy- _har_!" the redhead rolled her eyes.

 **"** **Trust me, this guy – he's no angel," Sam firmly stated.**

 **Staring straight ahead, Lori said, "I was** ** _so_** **angry at my father. Part of me** ** _wanted_** **him punished. And then he came and he punished him."**

 **"** **It's** ** _not_** **your fault," Sam emphatically assured her. But Lori wasn't convinced, her head shaking as she roughly swiped at her tears, "Yes, it is. I don't know how, but it is-" the camera rotated to show the Hook Man appear at the back of the church and promptly disappear, "-I killed Rich. Taylor, too. I nearly killed** ** _my father_** **."**

Eyes wide with fright, Hazel murmured, "Did you guys see him?"

"The Hook Man? Yeah," Jason frantically nodded.

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, good. I thought it was just me for a moment there."

"Nope. We all saw him," Percy gulped, his worriment in regards to the Winchesters skyrocketing.

 **"** **Lori…"**

 **She spoke over Sam, anxious and desperate, "I can see it now. They didn't deserve to be punished.** ** _I do_** **." Suddenly a sharp noise resonated from the front of the church, followed by the lit candles at the altar blowing out and the screen turned black.**

"The Hook Man strikes again," Katie huffed. "I think I'm beginning to prefer Bloody Mary over him."

Apprehensive, Grover quickly shook his head as he brayed, "They're both _horrible_ ; I prefer none."

"That makes the two of us, G-Man," Percy patted his back in a camaraderie fashion.

And then, Artemis spoke up, her words prompting an epiphany to hit Poseidon and further enrage Athena.

"Lori must be conflicted again for the spirit to materialize again… I wonder who it's next victim shall be," Artemis pondered aloud.

Sea-green orbs widened as realization dawned on the King of Atlantis. " _Of course_! Why, the mortal girl said it. _She_ deserves to be punished. She blames _herself_ for the death of her boyfriend and friend and the near-death of her father. The spirit is there to punish _Lori_."

"Uncle P, you're a genius!" Apollo crowed, grinning from ear to ear.

Ares chuckled, flaming sockets intent on Athena, who looked like she was about to burst a vessel any minute now. "Would ya look at that…Old Seaweed's smarter than our very own Goddess of Wisdom," he crooned. Ares couldn't help but revel in baiting Athena about the ' _esteemed_ ' title she constantly overused in order to make herself appear superior to them all.

The Goddess of Love threw her head back as she succumbed to raucous laughter.

Thankfully, the screen resumed, effectively silencing Athena. However, she did spare Ares a look of promised retribution, her merciless orbs ice-cold.

 **The camera opened on Sam and Lori; the former was forcefully leading the latter to the basement, but before he could get the door to open, the Hook Man pushed his hook through the door. "** ** _Go_** **!" Sam yelled. Together, they ran down the aisle and into a backroom, the Hook Man following all the while, smashing his hook through the glass of a random door. Gaining speed, he swung at Sam a few times and missed.**

"Where are Dean, Olivia and Clay?" Aphrodite screeched, frantically clutching a hand over her heart as it thunderously beat against her ribcage. "Have they yet to hear the disturbance?!"

 **The Hook Man chased them around the room and finally, it's hook impaled Sam's shoulder, eliciting a painful scream from him.**

" _Di immortales_!" every single goddess breathed out, it sounding more like a concerned exclamation, Aphrodite the loudest of them all.

Simultaneously, Clarisse, Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Jason, Leo, the Stolls and Hazel yelled, " _NO_!"

"It's a small puncture wound," Ares rolled his eyes. "No need for dramatics."

Upon finding himself on the receiving end of a plethora of furious glares from nearly every female in the Throne Room and Ariadne's scream of "You're so insensitive!", he huffed out an irritated breath and in a bored, sort of monotonous voice, grumbled, "It's _small_ and easily controllable. All he needs to do is apply firm pressure with a clean cloth until the bleeding eventually stops and then bandage it. No need for useless tears."

Shrugging, Percy grudgingly stated, "As much as I hate to say it, but he's right. We've been inflicted with worse injuries. _Much worse_ , and we survived."

Poseidon stared aghast at his son and, upon witnessing the nods of agreement and grim expressions from the other demigods, the godly parents in the room joined the Sea God in his displeased scrutiny.

 **In a swift motion, an invisible force dragged Lori on her back across the floor. Despite his injury, Sam ran over to her, "Come on. You okay?" The Hook Man reappeared and knocked Sam backwards into a wall.**

"Son of a _bitch_!" Hermes, Apollo and Triton gasped out.

Relieved, Clarisse pointed a finger at the screen, "Sam can't stay down for long."

 **Sam shot to his feet and rushed to the Hook Man who stood looming over Lori. At that moment, Dean, Liv and Clay burst in. "Sam, drop!" was all Dean had to say for his brother to crouch down as three shots rang in the room, one shot from each hunter. Once again, the Hook Man turned to dust, vanishing.**

"Oh, thank the Lord," Rachel breathed out, one hand plastered to her forehead and the other hovering over her rapidly beating heart.

The fact that this was _real_ , that it _would_ _happen_ in the nearby future, made it all the more terrifying. Sam's shoulder wasn't drenched in fake blood – it wasn't ketchup, or paint, it was _blood_ , genuine blood! The Hook Man wasn't some minor actor in a convincing costume, the hook wasn't shiny plastic, their actions weren't some form of stunt… it was _all. real_!

 **"** **I thought we got all the silver," Sam grunted. Dean's comment of, "So did I." was drowned by Liv's sharp intake of breath. Ignoring Lori's terrified form, Liv rushed over to Sam's side, eyes wide on his wound and hands frantically on him to better gauge his injury, "Sam, you're bleeding!"**

 **A strained yet genuine smile on his face, Sam softly pushed her off him, "It's just a scratch, Liv."**

 **"** **Just a-** ** _just a scratch_** **! Sam, you've got an effin' hole in your shoulder," she snapped back, concern heavy in her mahogany orbs.**

"How sweet!" Aphrodite cooed, yet again.

It truly was an endearing sight to behold – the literal definition of a _family_. For despite Sam and Liv's legendary quarrels, the differences between them, and the crude cutting words they traded at a constant basis, at the end of the day, they fight like dogs to protect each other and the love they held for one another was incomparable.

"Told you," Ares grunted, choosing to ignore the touching scene unlike his lover. "Just a scratch. No need for all the fuss."

Sighing, Aphrodite mumbled, "You never cease to amaze me, Ares."

 **Grabbing Liv's hands, Sam squeezed them and smiled, "And we'll deal with it later. Right now, we need to find the silver. We obviously missed something."**

 **Grudgingly, Liv nodded and she turned to check Lori's condition. Unconsciously, she tightly clutched her crucifix and simultaneously, the camera focused on Clay, whose gaze narrowed on Liv's hand and then Liv, her gaze intent on Lori's smaller silver cross.**

Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Zeus, Poseidon, Hecate, Hades and Hestia didn't fail to notice Clay Warren's suspicious reaction to the piece of jewelry around Olivia's neck, but, before they could draw attention to it, Olivia abruptly addressed the Reverend's daughter, prompting them to file their observation away to discuss on a later date.

 **"** **That chain, Lori, where did you get that?"**

 **Dean, Sam and Clay blatantly stared at Lori's neck. Nervous, Lori traced the chain, "My father gave it to me."**

 **Realizing Liv's line of thought, Dean asked, "Where'd your dad get it?"**

 **"** **He said it was a church heirloom, he gave it to me when I started school," Lori promptly responded, staring between the four hunters in confusion and, when she affirmed it was silver, she yelped when Liv yanked it off from around her neck, gripping it tight in her clenched hand.**

"Of course!" Rachel breathed out. "I should've known it'd be Lori's necklace. It makes perfect sense."

Face scrunched in distaste, Athena reluctantly vocalized her observation, "Apparently, street smarts is a requirement. Not just general knowledge."

"Don't pout," Poseidon mocked her.

Athena hissed in response, glowering at her most hated uncle.

 **Invisible, the Hook Man started to make a long scratch on the wall, Dean and Clay turning to stare. Drawing Sam's attention, Liv tossed him her rock salt loaded rifle and headed downstairs with the silver necklace in hand. In afterthought, Clay ran after her, leaving Dean and Sam to stand protectively in front of Lori and begin shooting at the wall before reloading.**

"While Clay's concern is endearing, there's no need. Olivia can take care of herself," Apollo commented, surprising everyone with the mild venom in his voice, his blue gaze darkening as he glared at the screen.

Cocking her head, Aphrodite blinked as cognizance slowly flooded her kaleidoscopic eyes… ' _Is he, is Apollo jealous?!_ ' Of course, his bemusing lapse of silence and odd hostility towards Clay Warren was beginning to make absolute sense now, and Aphrodite could've slapped herself for not realizing it sooner.

Apparently, she now had two gods, deep in denial, on her hands.

 **The shot cut to the basement; Liv stopped before the fire and tossed the necklace in its roaring depths, Clay at her heels. "I don't need a babysitter, Clay," she huffed, frowning at him.**

 **Giving her a smirk, he said, "Not babysitting, looking out for you."**

"Kind of sounds the same," Clarisse grumbled, hiding a smile behind her hand.

 **Upstairs, Sam was struggling to load his rifle due to his injured shoulder. The Hook Man appeared and knocked it out of his hands. Ducking, Sam dragged Lori along and they both crawled into the corner as Dean took another shot at him, prompting the Hook Man's attention to be fixated on him instead.**

Amphitrite emitted a weary sigh, "Why is it, Dean _always_ ends up with the job of distracting entities from Sam or Olivia?"

"Because he's the eldest and takes his job seriously," Travis solemnly stated. "In order to keep Sam and Liv safe, he's probably gotten used to being bait."

Artemis wrinkled her nose, "That sounds terribly morbid, young demigod."

"It's the truth," he shrugged, not noticing the flicker of concern in Hermes' eyes as he furtively glanced at him.

 **The shot alternated to the basement and zoomed in on the fire, where the cross pendant could be seen breaking off the chain and melt. Upstairs, the Hook Man, who had his hook overhead, ready to swing at Dean, froze. Slowly, the hook started melting and his black coat was engulfed in flames as it slowly and then quickly devoured his entire form.**

"Now _that's_ cool!" the Stolls, Chris and Percy stared agape, staring at the screen in awe.

Practically drooling, Leo crowed, " _Cool_? That's _awesome_!"

"Yes. This is new," Hermes acknowledged. "Each ghost had a different reaction in their last moment."

 **Liv and Clay could be seen rushing over to join them just as the Hook Man vanished for good and the screen turned black.**

"Case _officially_ closed!" Percy exclaimed.

Smug, Aphrodite said, "Didn't I say I have full confidence in the Winchesters' abilities?"

"At least they aren't as arrogant as you, Aphrodite," Persephone fondly inserted.

Waving a hand in the air, the love goddess cheerfully retorted, "It's not _arrogance_ , darling Seph, it's _pride_!"

 **The scene opened to the exterior of St. Barnabas Church. An ambulance was parked outside and a couple of police officers could be seen walking around the vicinity. The camera then honed in on the Sheriff who was interrogating Dean, Liv and Clay. "And you saw him, too? The man with the hook?"**

 **"** **Yes, I told you, we all saw him. We fought him off and then he ran," Dean adamantly stated. The Sheriff looked skeptical, "And that's all."**

 **A mischievous smile pulled at Liv's lips.**

Ares was suddenly struck with Olivia's uncanny resemblance to Victoria – the mischievous smile attached to many fond memories, a characteristic trait he _adored_. Grief gripped his heart and he slammed his eyes shut, his jaw clenching as he attempted to banish the unwanted recollection.

 **"** **I know, right? Seems so anticlimactic. Why run away from five kids… do we look that scary-" Dean elbowed her sharply and Clay turned his head to hide an amused smile.**

 **"** **Excuse my cousin, Sheriff," Dean sighed, giving her a look that screamed 'shut it'. "She's going through that moody, rebellious teen stage," he then shrugged as if to say 'what to do?'**

Laughter ensued.

"I swear those two really do know how to brighten up a dark moment," Chris laughed, tightening his arms around Clarisse.

Ares glowered but kept his mouth stubbornly shut.

"Thalia's still going through that stage. She's permanently stuck there," Percy cheekily pointed out.

Electric blues pierced the form of her cousin, "Shut it, Seaweed Brain! At least I don't have kelp for brains."

"Stop stealing Annabeth's lines," Percy pouted.

Eyes dancing merrily, Annabeth winked at Thalia, "She has permission."

"You two _always_ team up against me," Percy histrionically whined. "It's _not_ fair."

Massaging her temples, Hera groaned to herself, " _Must they continue_ to test my patience!"

 **Exasperated, the Sheriff prefaced, "Listen. You, your brother and your cousin-"**

 **"** **Oh don't worry," Dean jauntily cut in. "We're leaving town."**

"I'm surprised he didn't get his ass hauled back to a holding cell," Frank remarked.

 **The scene then alternated to the ambulance where Lori stood beside Sam as a paramedic finished bandaging his shoulder. "You gonna be okay?" she asked in concern.**

 **"** **Yeah," he responded. Nodding, she swallowed and offered him a tentative smile, "I still don't know what happened. But I do know you saved my life. My father's too. Thank you." Her gratitude was heartfelt and Sam nodded and smiled in response.**

"Heroes in their own right," Artemis mumbled under her breath.

The goddess felt torn; like Hades, she felt like everything she knew, her beliefs, her personal _opinions_ , her _obstinate_ unchanging stance on men… it was slowly disintegrating, the pieces morphing into _something else_ , forcing her to embrace the fact that _perhaps_ she had misjudged, that perhaps more than a few exceptions could be made. Olivia Winchester was _incredible_ , despite being the daughter of Ares, that girl was phenomenal and otherworldly. Her cousins, her _mortal_ family, all of which comprised of men, were outstanding, exceptional and genuine…heroes, warriors, _true hunters_.

Artemis was confused…and at an impasse.

Decision made, she decided to stew on her changing outlook for a while longer and patiently observe what else the Moirai held in store for them. Hopefully then, she would no longer maintain a bemused state.

 **Back at the Impala, Clay was saying his goodbyes to Dean and Liv when Sam joined them. He shook hands with Dean and Sam, pulling the former in for a brief hug before turning to Liv and, opening his arms wide, she hugged him tight, a genuine, breathtaking smile on her face.**

Ares and Apollo glared daggers at the screen.

Not having missed their slightly identical and comical reaction, Aphrodite and Hermes repressed their amusement from being portrayed on their face and traded a conspiratorial wink.

 **"** **Don't be a stranger, Cruise, you hear me," Liv laughed, pulling away to stand between Dean and Sam. With a chuckle, Clay nodded, his trademark smirk in place, "Wouldn't dream of it, Cher. And…" Hesitating, he gave the Winchesters a sorrowful smile, "If I hear any news about your old man, you'll be the first to know."**

 **Expression solemn, Sam nodded, "We'd appreciate it."**

 **"** **Give my best to the 'rents, yeah?" Dean called after Clay just before he clambered into his chrome black Hummer H2 SUT. Pulling down the window, he waved, "Will do," and drove off.**

Leo whistled, "Sweet ride!"

" _Expensive_ ride," Rachel pointedly stated.

Shaking his head, Percy breathed out, "Who _are_ the Warren family. Seriously! They're like some mystery I _need_ to solve."

"That your ADHD talking?" Frank teased.

Mock pouting, Percy lightheartedly retorted, "Shut up, Mr. Lactose Intolerant."

"Low blow, Perce. Low blow," Frank's eyes twinkled with mirth.

 **Once Clay was no longer in view, and noting Sam's gaze continued to stray towards Lori, Dean hesitantly put forth a suggestion, "We could stay…"**

 **"** ** _We can_** **?!" Liv skeptically repeated. Dean nudged her. Frowning, she rubbed her arm and repeated in a more cheerful nuance, "I mean, yeah,** ** _we can_** **!"**

"Yeah, that's convincing," Rachel giggled.

Katie shook her head fondly, "That girl seriously should be considered as the best stress reliever."

 **But Sam shook his head in negative. His expression sad, Dean got into the car and stared at Lori from the rearview mirror. Shaking his head in disappointment, once Sam and Liv got in the Impala, he drove away and the screen turned black.**

"Dean was serious?" Ariadne gasped in shock. "He genuinely would have put a hold on hunting for Samuel to be happy with Lori Sorenson."

Apollo chuckled, his irritation diminishing now that Clay Warren was no longer in the picture, "Well I'll be damned."

"Of course," Aphrodite stated as though it were the most _obvious_ thing. "He's Samuel's big brother, Aria. He would risk everything to make him happy."

Hestia sighed sadly, "Alas, Samuel is still going through a mourning period."

"Yes, Jessica Moore," in the blink of an eye, Aphrodite became teary-eyed as she recalled the poor mortal's devastating death and Samuel's heart-wrenching anguish.

"Now what?" Zeus grumbled, checking the time.

In response, the screen regained color.

"I believe we have time for another episode," Hestia beamed, unlike Hera, who scowled darkly – an unattractive look on her.

Disgruntled, Hades sneered, "Let us hope we won't bear witness to _another_ accursed spirit wandering the mortal plane _without_ a blasted summoner."

 **A/N:** **Finally Done!**

 **Can you believe I started this chapter on the second week of February?! Unfortunately, I kept getting distracted and had to put it on hold to update my other stories. But it's finally complete! XD**

 **I got many reviews from my wonderful followers, most of which stated that the Hook Man was one of their favorite episodes, which, I gotta say, made me** ** _incredibly_** **nervous while writing this! I hope I exceeded your expectations and didn't ruin your favorite episode with my portrayal of this chapter.**

 **Nervously awaiting your opinion!**

 **Also, for those who are excited in regards to the introduction of Angels and Lucifer (trust me, SO AM I!), I inserted a little teaser on where they stand regarding their existence. I didn't elaborate much because the introduction of angels deserves a chapter of its own, so yeah…**

 **o**

 **After much debate, and, as promised, I decided to introduce my OC early – Clay Warren.**

 ** _Originally_** **, he wasn't supposed to make an appearance until Season 2, but I decided to alter that plot-twist of mine and add him in early. Clay and his family – they are a family of Hunters, just like the Winchesters. As you can see, the Winchester and Warren family go way back as mentioned, since John and Rhys knew each other from childhood.**

 **The Warren family is of my creation and they've got a huge twist – seriously a major plot-twister with many surprises to introduce to my story. No spoilers! You gotta just be patient, wait and see.**

 **(Did anyone notice Aphrodite's curious reaction to the Warren's? hmm… ponder on that ;) I ain't telling – don't hate me! LOL!)**

 **The** **Celebrity Face** **of Clay Warren is… *** ** _drum roll_** *** … the wonderful, the sexy, the gorgeously debonair and mischievous CHRIS PRATT!**

 **To those who watch Guardians of the Galaxy, Clay Warren's personality closely resembles Peter Quill (Starlord)… I hope I did him justice! XD**

 **o**

 **Celebrity Faces:**

 **I only have** **One** **for y'all today!**

 **…** **Aphrodite!**

 **She's the Goddess of Love, Lust, Beauty, Sexuality, Pleasure… need I say more. This goddess has a habit of changing her looks, her hair and eye colors… whenever somebody sets their eyes upon her, she morphs into the embodiment of what** ** _they_** **believe is true beauty! Of what attracts them the most…**

 **Honestly, I could only think of** ** _one!_** **gorgeous woman that fit the bill: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley!**

 **Her height, her figure, her features… everything about her SCREAMS** ** _Aphrodite_** **! So I'm going with that.**

 **Again, there will be another** **POLL** **for** **my awesome readers to pick out two characters and next chapter, I will reveal the Celebrity Faces of the two names that collected the most votes. Choose wisely! ;)**

 **o**

 **I would like to discuss a sensitive matter: Sex & Religion.**

 **To be honest, I hate going into such deep topics because I am an open-minded individual with zero prejudice and talking about such matters normally always end in discord. I hope I didn't insult or annoy anyone with the religious views of the characters but it couldn't be avoided… and, for future chapters, a heads up, it won't be the last mentioning of religion once the Angels, Archangels, Lucifer and even** ** _God_** **enter the playing field.**

 **About Sex… again, everyone's entitled to their own opinion; some prefer sex** ** _before_** **marriage and some prefer sex** ** _after_** **marriage. Some believe that one should be at least 16 years of age to have sex, while I know for a fact that girls much younger (at least 13 or 14) start engaging in sexual activity.**

 **You'll receive no judgment from me, like I mentioned above, I am a very open-minded person. I merely bring this up in case any of my wonderful readers got insulted by Hazel's proclamation and the goddess's inputs in regards to their opinion of sex.**

 **o**

 **A/N:**

 **BTW, about Apollo…**

 **I received many comments that ship Apollo/Olivia … or as I like to call their ship-name: Apolia!**

 **For that reason, I had Apollo feel somewhat jealous of Clay [BTW, how HOT was the Clay + Olivia = Kiss (Clivia/Olay)]… not the point! I have a few solid relationships planned for Olivia in the future, and when I say solid, I mean** ** _definite_** **! – I won't be changing my mind! However, I decided it was best to keep my options open, so I had Apollo feel slightly jealous just in case I spontaneously choose to go through the Apolia route. XD**

 **So… readers don't get your hopes up, it's a MAYBE, not a DEFINITE Ship.**

 **Also:** **Should I calm down in regards to the Athena and Hera bashing? Or should I keep it up? Keep in mind that, as I've mentioned countless of times before now, every single character will become OOC and start changing as the episodes continue and they interact more with the demigods.**

 **o**

 **To** ** _all_** **my Lovely,** ** _Lovely_** **Reviewers,** ** _thank you_** **for all your wonderful and inspiring comments!**

 **To** **SweetSnow01** **: Hey! I am so glad you like my story, I put a lot of work into it. You are one of my readers that inspired the little spark of jealousy in Apollo in regards to Liv, so I hope you enjoyed that! XD …Honestly, while I'm following Rick Riordan, I also try and deviate and gather information from Wiki and the like as I believe Rick didn't cover all the known factors of the gods and goddesses. Anyways, I hope this chapter was to your liking!**

 **To** **RHatch89** **: Honestly, I found the Bugs Episode a little boring… so I hope the next chapter will exceed your expectations. I'm gonna have to delve into a lot of research to make it special instead of a copy-paste from Canon.**

 **To** **Krislyngera** **: If Olivia has a love interest from PJO, it will be one-sided from now as Liv wouldn't have met the characters yet. I have future relationships planned for Olivia however, that are set in stone, from SPN universe. No spoilers… XD**

 **To** **Nanashi** **Samurai** **: Oh, God no!** ** _No…_** **N-O- NO! No rape AT ALL. Hold your horses, LOL. Liv did not get nor will she** ** _ever_** **get raped. It completely contradicts her character and that badassery thing she got going on for her. She can handle herself and physically hold her own against some low-life rapist. So don't worry. That plot isn't in the cards.**

 **To** **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01** **: Haha, nope. Olivia is baby-free. However, if you** ** _are_** **interested in reading about a pregnant Winchester, then you should check out my latest story: Fallen Ivy. ;)**

 **To** **Karen0610** **: If only Charlie wasn't so far away… Season 7! A long wait. I hope Clay Warren was to your liking…? I enjoyed writing him and his interaction with Liv. Also, if Ares' inner turmoil interested you, I'm sure you enjoyed his reaction to the passionate kiss she shared with Clay ;)!**

 **To** **JoySalvatore1** **: The best part about having Percy, Leo and the Stolls included in my story is that they could act extremely silly and it would make complete sense. I can twist their character however I want and it wouldn't be weird and they wouldn't look out of character, LOL. …Oh, I have A LOT of plans for Gabriel, after all, he is my favorite angel/archangel… and I HATE the fact that he died and Chuck continued to resurrect Castiel after his many, MANY F**k ups, and not him! *grumble***

 **To** **head reyes** **: LOL! To tell you the truth, my favorite stories to read** ** _are_** **the watching the movies/episode or reading the books, so I totally get what you mean! I adore writing Liv and Dean, and Sam and her arguments are a** ** _blast_** **! No, Olivia isn't pregnant; it's an aspect of her being a daughter of Ares and also a demigod thing that would make more sense by the Hell House Episode. If you're interested in a story about a pregnant Winchester, like I mentioned to a previous reader above, check my latest story: Fallen Ivy. Home Episode will have a few hints, but everything will be revealed by Hell House (hopefully… depends on my Muse it could be sooner or later). Anyhu, I'm glad you enjoyed my story! Your Review truly made my day! XD**

 **To** **0netflixme0** **: I don't know if Apollo can kick Ares' ass since he now joined him in the denial stage, LOL! And I think Ares deserves to kick his ass for beginning to have a crush on his little girl… not that he'll admit to care. I don't have a fixed date… this chapter was supposed to be out last month and I got distracted, so I cannot tell you for sure. However, Bugs will be out sometime in April.**

 **To** **Guest98** ** & ****Guest 117** **: No, Ares doesn't exactly blame Olivia for Victoria's death. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Ares was completely oblivious over the fact that Victoria has been dead for around 15 years and it was news to him as much as it was for everyone else.**

 **To** **Orion Prime** **: Thank you so much! Your comment helped a lot with the timeline for this chapter! XD**

 **To** **letonlee** **: OMG thank you SO much! Your comment brought a huge smile onto my face and made my day, so THANK YOU! XD I** ** _might_** **put your idea into consideration and create a little bump-in for Apollo and Olivia, maybe make them a future one-night-stand but it depends on how the story goes because I already have some ideas in place. Like I mentioned above, Ares** ** _just_** **found out that Victoria's been dead for 15 years, so that's not it, XD.**

 **To** **maevel** **: I try to write in one session, but if plans come up last minute, or my Muse gets distracted (writer's block) I divide them… sometimes (like I did for this chapter) I put it on hold, update a few other stories and get back to it. The next chapter will come up sometime in April as I want to update my other stories before my followers band together and go on a strike, LOL!**

 **To** **bloody lilith** **: Another comment that totally made my day! Honestly, I always look forward to your reviews, I basically memorized your name! LOL! If you adored the Frank/Ares scene, I hope you loved the scene I included in this chapter about Clarisse/Aphrodite! Ares may have seemed a bit OOC, but to tell you the truth, I completely disagree with Rick Riordan's interpretation of Ares. My portrayal of Athena is kind of selfish, as I never liked her in the books, and I hated her rivalry with Poseidon –** ** _truth_** **: Poseidon is SO much better and impressive and intimating and, just, BETTER in every single way (okay, done fangirling, LOL)! I made Liv young on purpose for that exact reason. I cannot wait to write Liv as she grows and becomes more battle-weary and mature but still keep her childish qualities. I mean, if you look at Dean, you can see the amazing balance between him as a serious person and a jokester, or is it just me? Dean and Sam's love-life… still debating; it depends on how the story goes, to be honest. I am going to keep some events canon-based, because the point of this is to show those from the past of the hardships and the loss the Winchesters are forced to go through… and Liv actually has an important part to play – unfortunately that's not gonna happen for a long time. Jo Harvelle, on one hand, I want them to be frenemies – they look like they'd butt heads a lot and fight worse than how Liv did with Sam, but on the other hand, I feel like they could be amazing friends. So I'm still debating… unlike with Charlie, who I assure you, Liv would get along with like a house on fire.**

 **R &R.**


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